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Rev. John F. Mullany, LL. D, 


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SYRACUSE, N. Yc 

1908 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 


Two CoDies Received 

JAN 20 1809 



3mpttmatut 

+ PATRITUS A. LUDDEN 
Epioscopus Syracusensis 


jlJiiin iSDb0tat 

WILLIAM J. GLYNN, D. D. 
Censor Deputatus 


Syracuse, November 19, 1907 


Copyright iQoS 
By REV. J. F. MULLANY 
Syracuse, N. Y. 


b 


affectfonatelH DeUfcateH 
^0 tpe C^ilUren ann '^eu^tta ot our 
Suntia? Sc|)ool0 


The Mason-Henry Press 
Syracuse. N. Y. 


Binghamton, N. Y., November 19, 1907. 
Dear Father Mullany : 

I have carefully perused your “Biblical Stud- 
ies,” found it sound in doctrine, consonant with 
biblical exegesis. From the divine treasury of 
the “Written Word” you develop the “vetera et 
nova” of Jewish and Christian doctrine. 

Your “Studies” must prove an aid to the stu- 
dent of biblical lore, a guide to the teacher of 
our catechetical schools — an antidote for “mod- 
ern thought.” 

Very sincerely yours, 

WM. J. GLYNN, D. D. 


(vi) 


PREFACE 


The luminous Encyclical of the great Leo 
XIII. on the Holy Scriptures which caused wide- 
spread attention to the study of the holy book- — 
not only as the inspired Word of God for the 
guidance of souls — but as an authentic record 
of the most interesting and important events in 
the world's history, encouraged me at the time 
to publish, in Mosher’s Magazine and the Sunday 
Companion, this series of essays on the great 
men identified with Bible history. 

In these Bible studies I have not attempted 
a deep and thorough criticism of the characters 
and events herein treated, for these topics cannot 
be exhausted even by the most scholarly Bible 
students, but I have sought to interest the youth 
of the country by giving them a continuous 
story illustrated by the latest researches handed 
down to us by biblical antiquarians. 

While I have adhered to the old conservative 
representation of truths that have been generally 
accepted for the past two thousand years, yet, I 
have not disregarded the light which has recent- 

(vii) 


Preface 

ly been shed on the subject by higher criticism. 
I consider it safe, however, to follow the beaten 
pathway in Bible studies till our Bible scholars 
arrive at conclusions that are more than mere 
conjectures. 

In the preparation of this little volume I am 
happy to acknowledge the assistance I have re- 
ceived from Bible scholars and devoted friends. 
In its compilation I have consulted the following 
works: Pere Didon^s Life of Christ; Fouard on 
the Gospels; Hours with the Bible by Geikie; 
Introduction to Holy Scripture by Breen; Jew- 
ish Heroes by Lord, and the works of Cornelius 
a Lapide. 

The Author 


(viii) 


CONTENTS 


Part I. The Old Testament Bible Studies. 


Abraham . 

Joseph 

Moses 

Job . . . 

Samuel 
David . 

Solomon 
Elias . 

Esther 

Judas Machabeus 


3 

19 

45 

65 

91 

113 

137 

157 

203 

229 


Part II. The New Testament Bible Studies. 


St. John the Baptist 7 

St. Matthew 19 

St. Mark 27 

St. Luke 37 

St. John 47 

St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles ... 63 

St. Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles . . 89 

St. Andrew 113 

St. James 123 

St. Philip i37 

St. Bartholomew i47 


(ix) 


Contents 


St. Thomas 155 

St. James, the Lesser 167 

Ss. Simon, Jude, and Matthias . . . .177 

St. Matthias 185 ' 


(x) 


PART I 

THE OLD TESTAMENT 
BIBLE STUDIES 


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ABRAHAM 


»RAHAM, from a religious point of view, 



is the most august personage in all his- 


tory. He is the spiritual father of all 
who acknowledge a personal God, supreme, 
eternal, and infinite. He was inspired to restore 
faith in the world and to re-establish the wor- 
ship of the one true God. He may not have had 
the genius and learning of Moses, but as a great 
religious teacher, he has no superior in the Old 
Testament. He brought the world back to a 
knowledge of the true God, whose right is to 
reign forever over everything that exists, ani- 
mate or inanimate. 

When Abraham appeared four thousand years 
ago, the nations of the earth had apparently for- 
gotten or ignored this great fundamental truth, 
and were more or less given to idolatry — that is, 
to the worshiping of the heavenly bodies, or the 
forces of nature, or animals, or men, or graven 
images, or even sinful passions. There were but 
few evidences of the primitive revelation handed 
down from Adam through the generations, yet 
at this very time we find a remarkable material 


( 3 ) 


Bible Studies 

civilization. In Egypt the great pyramids were 
being built, the uses of metals, weights, measures, 
and textile fabrics were known. There were also 
cities and fortresses and vineyards and agricul- 
tural implements and weapons of war and com- 
merce and musical instruments and golden ves- 
sels, purple dyes, stone engravings, glasswork, 
and sundials ; even the art of printing was almost 
discovered, as we may infer from the stamping 
of letters on tiles and bricks. 

Yet with all this material progress there had 
been a steady decline in faith and morals, from 
which fact we must conclude that man, when 
left to himself, will without supernatural aid, 
constantly decline in those fundamental virtues on 
which his strength is built, and without which 
the grandest triumphs of the intellect avail noth- 
ing. The greatest civilization that ever existed 
in material progress, co-existed with the most 
shameful debasement of morals, as is witnessed 
among the Greeks and the Romans. Triumphs 
of knowledge, disconnected with right living and 
right thinking, are powerless to prevent the de- 
cline of nations. Art, science, philosophy, and 
literature failed to save the greatest nations of 
the ancient world. We might ask why so rapid 
a decline among peoples so favored by the most 
remarkable development of intellect and knowl- 

( 4 ) 


Abraham 


edge. Why did gross superstition so quickly ob- 
scure man’s reason, and shameful vices so soon 
undermine the moral health of these nations? 
The answer is simple, because without God we 
can do nothing, and fallen nature cannot elevate 
itself by its unaided strength. 

Abram lived until he was seventy-five years of 
age among pagans and idolators. His father, 
Thare, was a descendant of Sem of the eleventh 
generation, and the original seat of his tribe was 
in Southern Armenia. From thence Thare mi- 
grated to the plains of Mesopotamia, which was 
one of the most ancient of the Chaldean cities, 
and one where the arts and sciences were culti- 
vated, but where the people lived without God. 
It was in this pagan city that Abram was born 
and lived till his divine call. It was necessary 
that he should be removed from such wicked in- 
fluences, so, in obedience to the call from God, he 
left the city of his birth-place, and went toward 
the land of Chanaan and settled in Haran, where 
he remained till the death of his father. 

Abram, now the . head of his tribe, received 
another call, with a promise that he should be 
the founder of a great people, and that in him all 
the nations of the earth should be blessed. This 
call was the voice of God, commanding Abram 
to leave country and kindred and go to a land 

( 5 ) 


Bible Studies 


utterly unknown to him, but which, in due time, 
would be revealed to him. His faith in God was 
so profound that he hesitated not a moment, but 
followed God’s commands. He was ready to go 
wherever he was sent at once, without conditions 
or remonstrance. 

In obedience to the divine voice, Abram passed 
through the land of Chanaan into Sichem. He 
then continued his journey, till he pitched his 
tent on a mountain east of Bethel, where he built 
an altar unto the Lord. Here, Melchisedech, 
the king of Salem, which means peace, offered a 
sacrifice of bread and wine to the living God, 
this sacrifice prefiguring the sacrifice of Calvary 
which is continued in the Holy Mass. In all 
probability this great priest was a descendant of 
Cham. 

Abram was hospitably received by those 
people, with whom he lived in peace and even 
entered into their battles as an ally and protector. 
He did not seek to conquer territory, powerful as 
he was, but continued as a pilgrim and wanderer, 
journeying with his servants and flocks wherever 
the Lord called him, and hence he excited no 
jealousy and provoked no hostilities. 

He had not been settled long with his flocks 
and herds before a famine arose in the land, 
which forced him to seek subsistence in Egypt, 
( 6 ) 


Abraham 


then governed by the shepherd kings. Abram 
was well received at the court of the Pharaohs 
until he was detected in a falsehood in regard to 
his wife, whom he represented as his sister. This 
he did to save his life. He was then sent away 
and he returned with his nephew. Lot, to the land 
of Chanaan to the very spot where he had before 
pitched his tent, and erected there an altar to 
the Lord. 

But the land was not rich enough to support 
both the flocks and herds of Abram and Lot and 
there arose a strife between their respective herds- 
men; so the patriarch and his nephew separated. 
Lot choosing the fertile plains of the Jordan and 
Abram remaining in the land of Chanaan. It 
was while sojourning at Bethel that the Lord 
appeared again unto Abram and promised to 
him the whole land as a future possession. 

After that he removed to the plain of Mambre 
in Hebron where he again erected an altar to 
God. Here Abram remained in true patriarchal 
dignity without further migration, abounding in 
happiness and power and able to rescue his 
nephew, Lot, from the hands of Chodorlahomor, 
king of Elam. For that act of heroism, Abram 
was blessed again by Melchisedech in the name 
of their common Lord, the most high God. This 
mysterious personage, without father, without 

( 7 ) 


Bible Studies 

mother, without descent, having neither begin- 
ning nor end of days, according to Biblical in- 
terpreters, is a perfect type of the eternal priest- 
hood of the Church of God. 

The history of Abram, until his great trial, 
seems to have been a series of repeated covenants 
with God and promises of the future greatness 
of his descendants. The development of this 
new people was not to be like to that of Rome or 
Carthage or Athens in their outward splendor 
and political grandeur. It was to be another 
kind, moral and spiritual rather than material or 
intellectual, the center of a new religious life, 
which was to teach the world correct doctrines 
concerning God and the destiny of man. These 
were to spread for the uplifting of the nations of 
the earth, and were finally to culminate in the 
coming of Jesus Christ and in the establishing of 
His Church, which was to last till the end of 
time. 

This was the grand destiny of the Hebrew 
race, for the fulfillment of which they were 
located in a favored country, separated from 
other nations by mountains, deserts, and seas, 
yet capable of sustaining a large population, 
while they were governed by a policy tending to 
keep them a distinct, isolated, and peculiar 
people. To the descendants of Cham and Japeth 
( 8 ) 


Abraham 


were given cities, political power, material civ- 
ilization, but with the inhabitants of the tents of 
Sem religion was to dwell. “From the first to 
the last,” says Geike, “the intellect of the Hebrew 
dwelt on matters of faith. The triumphs of the 
pencil or the chisel he left with contemptuous 
indifference to Egypt, Assyria, and Greece. The 
world may have inherited no advance in political 
science from the Hebrew, no great epic poem, no 
school of architecture, no system of philosophy, 
no high extension of human thought or knowl- 
edge, in any secular direction ; but he has given it 
his religion. To other races we owe the splendid 
inheritance of modern civilization and secular 
culture, but the religious education of mankind 
has been the gift of the Jews alone.” 

For this purpose Abram was called to the land 
of Chanaan. From this point of view alone, we 
see the blessing of the promises which were given 
him. In this light he became the great bene- 
factor of the human race. He gave a religion to 
the world, or, at least, he re-established its fun- 
damental principle, the worship of the only true 
God. The greatness of the Jewish people, there- 
fore, was spiritual rather than material, and the 
real greatness of A^bram was in his faith. This 
was his rule of life, which always sustained him 
in all his difficulties and in all his wanderings. 

( 9 ) 


Bible Studies 

In his religious belief, he has no doubts, no 
questionings, no scepticism. He simply adores 
the Lord almighty, as the object of his supreme 
worship, and is ever ready to obey his com- 
mandments, whether he can comprehend the 
reason of them or not. He needs no arguments 
to confirm his trust or to stimulate his love and 
obedience. 

Yes, it is well we should realize that no truly 
great man can go through life without great 
trials and temptations; even Jesus Christ, the 
God-man, was subjected, for forty days, to the 
snares of the devil. Abram was no exception to 
this rule. He had had many great trials to pass 
through before he was considered worthy of the 
title of “Father of the faithful.’" In his old age 
he was promised a son, and God said to him : “I 
am, and my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt 
be a father of many nations; neither shall thy 
name be any more Abram, but thou shalt be 
called Abraham, a father of many nations.” (In 
connection with this covenant, the rite of circum- 
cision was introduced, which Abraham and his 
posterity piously observed from generation to 
generation.) This promise was a test of faith 
for Abraham, for it seemed impossible that he 
should have a child born to him in his old age, 
but he bowed his head to the word of God, for 

(lO) 


Abraham 

his faith was a living faith that never questioned 
a divine call. 

A still more severe test of faith for Abraham 
was the sacrifice of Isaac, on whose life all his 
hopes of future greatness naturally rested. God 
tested the obedience of Abraham by suggesting 
to him that it was his duty to sacrifice his only 
begotten son as an offering to prove his faith 
in God’s promise. This was a terrible test for 
Abraham’s obedience. The anguish of his soul 
was none the less because he had to settle with 
his conscience the awful act of taking a human 
life, and even greater was his distress when he 
thought of the promise of being the progenitor 
of an offspring that should inherit the land of 
Chanaan, and with it abandon all hope of descend- 
ants through his only son. 

Was there ever such a supreme act of obedi- 
ence in the history of the human race? Was 
there in any age such a transcendant manifesta- 
tion of faith ? By reason Abraham saw the foun- 
dation of his hope utterly swept away, and yet 
his faith towers above reason, and he feels the 
divine promise in some mysterious way will be 
fulfilled. He experienced sentiments similar to 
those experienced by the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
the Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 
when the angel announced to her that she was 
(ii) 


Bible Studies 

to conceive and bring forth a son, and yet remain 
a virgin. She knew not how, but her faith told 
her that nothing was impossible with God. 

In Abraham we find a grand illustration of the 
blending of piety and obedience. We can learn 
modesty and wisdom from this sublime lesson, 
and in all matters of faith be content with the 
definition of the great St. Paul that ‘‘Faith is the 
substance of things not seen,” and that reason 
must ever be subordinate to a loftier and grander 
principle, resting solely on a divine promise. An- 
other remarkable thing about this memorable 
history is that Abraham does not hesitate or 
question, but calmly and resolutely prepares for 
the sacrifice of his only son, the innocent and 
unresisting victim. He suppresses his feelings 
as a father in obedience to the Divine Will. And 
Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and 
laid it upon Isaac, his son, who was compelled, 
as it were, to carry his own cross. He took the 
fire in his hand and a sword, and Isaac said : “My 
Father, behold the fire and the wood, but where 
is the victim for the holocaust?” 

He suffered himself to be bound by his father 
on the altar, and then Abraham put forth his 
hand and took the sword to sacrifice his son. At 
this supreme moment of his trial, he heard the 
Angel of the Lord calling upon him out of 
(12) 


Abraham 


heaven and saying: “Abraham, Abraham, lay 
not thine hand upon the boy, neither do thou any- 
thing to him ; now I know that thou fearest God, 
and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my 
sake.” 

Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw behind 
his back a ram amongst the briars, sticking fast 
by the horns, which he took and offered for a 
holocaust for his son, and the Angel of the Lord 
called unto Abraham a second time out of 
heaven, saying : “By my own self have I sworn, 
saith the Lord, because thou hast done this thing 
and hast not spared thy only begotten for my 
sake, I will bless thee and I will multiply thy seed 
as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand that is 
by the seashore; thy seed shall possess the gates 
of the enemies, and in thy seed all the nations of 
the earth shall be blessed because thou hast 
obeyed my voice.” 

There are no more trials for Abraham. His 
faithfulness was established and he was justified 
before God. Henceforth his life was that of 
peace, prosperity, and happiness. He lives to the 
end of his long life in tranquil repose with his 
family and vast possessions. His only remain- 
ing solicitude is for a suitable wife for Isaac, 
concerning whom there is nothing very remark- 
able in gifts of fortune, but who maintains the 

(13) 


Bible Studies 

faith of his father and lives like him in patri- 
archal dignity. 

Abraham is an exalted model for all times^ 
but especially for these days of unbelief. His 
faith made him immortal. After 4,000 years or 
more, it looms up for our admiration, veneration, 
and imitation. It aids us in placing our supreme 
trust in an unseen God, and in giving our su- 
preme obedience to his commands, without any 
other exercise of reason than the intuitive con- 
viction that what He orders is always right, be- 
cause He orders it, whether that order comes to 
us through His commandments or through His 
Church. 

The character of Abraham is marked by many 
noble traits. How remarkable was his disinter- 
estedness in giving to Lot the choice of lands for 
his family, his flocks, and herds. How brave was 
he in rescuing his kinsman from the hands of 
Chodorlahomor, and the conquering kings. How 
hospitable his mode of life as when he entertained 
angels unawares. How kind he was to Hagar, 
when she had incurred the jealousy of Sarah. 
How serene, dignified, and generous he was at 
all times. He stands forth for all ages a model of 
courtesy and kindness. 

We always associate with Abraham the high- 
est ideal of earthly happiness which old age can 

(14) 


Abraham 


attain unto and enjoy. He was prosperous, rich, 
powerful, and favored in every way, but, above 
all, this was the happiness which came from the 
consciousness that he was to be the father of a 
mighty race, through whom all nations of the 
earth shall be blessed. Perhaps it was revealed 
to him what this blessing was to be. Perhaps 
the dear old patriarch cast his prophetic eye be- 
yond the ages and saw that the promise made to 
him pertained to the final triumph of truth in the 
coming of the Savior of the world, who would 
renew the face of the earth. Did he see in vision 
that from his descendants would come the great 
religious teachers of the human race, not only the 
prophets and sages of the Old Testament, but 
also the apostles and martyrs of the new, planting 
in every land the seed of the gospel, which is 
finally destined to uproot all forms of error, and 
cause every knee to bow, and every tongue to 
confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord God, equal 
to His Father from all eternity? 

Such were some of the many blessings granted 
to Abraham as the reward of his faith and obedi- 
ence to the one true God. His descendants for 
centuries remained faithful to the highest and 
noblest teachings the world ever received, and 
his name shall be forever linked with the spiritual 
uplifting and regeneration of the human race. 

( 15 ) 


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JOSEPH 



JOSEPH 



HE story of Joseph as narrated in the 


Book of Genesis is a masterpiece of histor- 


ical composition, sacred or profane, for its 
simplicity, its pathos, its dramatic power, and its 
sustained interest. 

Joseph, the great-grandson of Abraham, was 
born at Haran, in Mesopotamia, about 1776 
B. C., when his father, Jacob, was in the service 
of Laban the Syrian. There was nothing re- 
markable in his career until he was sold as a slave 
by his unnatural and jealous brothers. He was 
the favorite son of the patriarch Jacob by his 
wife Rachel, being the youngest, except Benja- 
min, of a large family of twelve sons. He was a 
beautiful and promising youth, with qualities 
which endeared him to his parents. 

By way of distinction, his father gave him a 
decorated tunic, such as was worn only by the 
sons of princes. His half-brothers were filled 
with envy over this distinction on the part of 
their common father, and this envy ripened into 
hostility when Joseph, with the frankness of 
youth, narrated his dreams, which signified his 


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future pre-eminence. Nor were his dreams alto- 
gether pleasing to his father, who rebuked him 
with this indignant outburst of feeling: ‘‘Shall 
I and thy mother and thy brethren worship thee 
upon the earth ?” 

But while the father pondered over these 
things in his heart, the brothers were consumed 
with hatred, for envy is one of the most power- 
ful passions that move the human soul and is 
fearfully malignant in its developments. Strange 
to say, it is quite common in large families, and 
among those who, in the eyes of the world, pass 
for friends. There is but one thing that extin- 
guishes envy, and that is death. Hence the envy 
of Joseph’s brothers, after they had sold him as a 
slave to a caravan of Ishmaelite merchants, was 
succeeded by remorse and shame, as their jeal- 
ousy passed into lies. 

They could not tell their broken-hearted father 
of their unnatural crime. Jacob was led to sup- 
pose that his favorite son was devoured by wild 
beasts : thus they added deceit and cowardice to a 
depraved heartlessness, and nearly brought down 
the gray hairs of their father to the grave. No 
punishm.ent could be severe for such wickedness. 
Although they were destined to become the lead- 
ers of the chosen people of God, they incurred the 
condemnation of all future ages. Juda and Ru- 
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Joseph 

ben are not included in this unlimited censure, 
since they sought to save their brother from a 
violent death. 

The sale of Joseph as a slave is one of the most 
signal instances of the providence of God, work- 
ing by natural laws, recorded in all history. In 
it we see how God draws good from evil. So 
marked is this lesson of God’s providence direct- 
ing all human action, that we can see in wars, 
revolutions, and even in revolting crimes, the 
finger of God — for the wrath of man is always 
overruled by the love of God. We cannot under- 
stand history without feeling that God is more 
powerful than all the combined forces of his ene- 
mies on earth and in hell; and that no matter 
what the evil may be, it will surely be made to 
praise Him who rules the world, visible and in- 
visible. 

The elevation and protection of Joseph is in 
many respects a type of that great sacrifice by 
which a sinful world has been redeemed. Little 
did the Jews suspect, when they crucified Jesus 
on Mount Calvary and laid Him away, that He 
would arise from His tomb and found a religion 
that would overturn the idolatries of nations. 
Little did Joseph’s brothers suspect that the poor, 
despised and envied dreamer would one day arise 
to be the ruler of a great nation and the savior 
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Bible Studies 

and benefactor of his unnatural brothers, who 
sold him as a slave for less than twenty dollars 
of our money. He is a beautiful type of Jesus 
Christ, the Savior of the world. This is history 
repeating itself. 

Did not the atrocities of the French Revolu- 
tion bring about the overturning of a great sys- 
tem of injustice that for centuries had cried to 
heaven for vengeance? 

The cruelties of the southern slaveholder was 
a crime which provoked one of the bloodiest wars 
of modern times and finally led to the constitu- 
tional and political equality of the blacks and 
whites. In both these terrible upheavals, evil ap- 
peared to triumph, but ended in the uplifting of 
humanity. This great truth applies to individ- 
uals as well as to nations. The humblest indi- 
vidual, as he bows down in grief and sorrow be- 
fore some punishment unlooked for, is ruled by 
this principle. Job upon the heap of ashes, 
or the broken-hearted mother battling with pov- 
erty and sickness, or the blighted prospects of 
youth, are examples to be found everywhere. It 
is the sad story of man’s inhumanity to man, 
which often is the outcome of a little jealousy. 
Human nature is the same to-day as in the days 
of Joseph. The history of Joseph is a genuine 
illustration of this fundamental truth. He is 
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Joseph 

sold as a slave for a few paltry dollars of our 
money, and is taken to a foreign country, — a 
land oppressed by despotic kings and the worship 
of a multiplicity of false gods. He is resold to a 
high official of the Egyptian Court, and soon he 
rises, by his natural genius and elevated charac- 
ter, to a position of power and trust, till he is 
unjustly accused of a shameful crime by a wicked 
woman. It is evident that his master only half 
believed in Joseph’s guilt in spite of the protes- 
tations of his profligate wife, since, instead of 
summarily executing him, as Assuerus did Ha- 
mon, he simply sends him to a temporary impris- 
onment adjacent to his palace. Here Joseph 
wins the favor of his jailers and of his brother 
prisoners, as St. Paul did nearly two thousand 
years later, and shows remarkable gifts, even to 
the interpretation of dreams, — a wonderful fac- 
ulty to a superstitious people like the Egyptians. 
The fame of his rare gifts reaches at last the ears 
of Pharaoh, who is troubled by a singular dream 
which no one of his learned men can interpret. 
Joseph is sent for and interprets it, and is mag- 
nificently rewarded, becoming the prime minister 
of an absolute monarch. The King gives him 
his signet ring, emblem of power, and a chain of 
gold, the emblem of the highest rank; clothes 
him in a vestment of fine linen, makes him ride 

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in his second chariot and appoints him ruler over 
the land, second to the king in power and rank; 
and, furthermore, he gives him in marriage the 
daughter of the High Priest of On. 

Joseph deserves all the honor and influence he 
receives, for he. saves the kingdom from a great 
calamity. He predicts seven years of famine and 
points out the remedy. According to tradition 
the monarch whom he served was Apapi, the last 
of the Shepherd Kings. Joseph was then thirty 
years of age, having served Putipher ten years 
and spent two or three years in prison. His 
elevation took place about 1877 B. C., under the 
last of Shepherd Kings who conquered the king- 
dom about three hundred years before. Their 
capital was Memphis, near the Pyramids, which 
had been erected several centuries earlier by the 
older native dynasties. It was by the earlier and 
later dynasties that the magnificent temples, 
tombs, and palaces were built, whose ruins have 
so long been the wonder of travelers. The 
Shepherd Kings were war-like, and led their 
armies from Scythia, or from the land of Cha- 
naan. This would account for the kind and 
generous treatment Abraham and Joseph re- 
ceived at their hands. In all probability the 
Hebrews would not have been tolerated under the 
older dynasties, for the Egyptians hated pastoral 

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Joseph 

people. We know that as soon as the Shepherd 
Kings were expelled by the Pharaohs who 
reigned at Thebes, it fared ill with the descend- 
ants of Jacob. They were bitterly and cruelly 
oppressed until the exodus under Moses. 

The wisdom of Joseph as a ruler of the land 
destined to experience seven years’ famine was 
marked by foresight as well as prompt action. 
He personally visited the various provinces, ad- 
vising the people to husband their harvests. But 
as most people are thoughtless and improvident, 
he himself gathered up and stored all the grain 
which could be spared. At last the predicted 
famine came, as the Nile had not risen to its usual 
height ; but the royal storehouses were full. 
Very soon the famine pressed upon the Egyptian 
people, for they were improvident and had no 
corn in reserve. Joseph made the people pay for 
the bread and took their money and deposited it 
in the royal treasury. After two years their 
money was all spent and it was found necessary 
to resort to barter, and cattle were given in ex- 
change for corn, by which means the king be- 
came possessed of all the personal property of 
his subjects. As the famine continued, the 
people next surrendered the land to avoid starva- 
tion. Pharaoh thus became absolute proprietor 
of the whole country, of money, of cattle, and of 
land. (25) 


Bible Studies 


Joseph, after the famine, exacted only one- 
fifth of the produce of the land for the support of 
the government, which could not be regarded as 
oppressive, as the king thus became absolute pro- 
prietor of Egypt by consent of the people whom 
he had saved from starvation. The gratitude of 
the people for Joseph was marked. They said: 
“Our life is in thy hands: only let my lord look 
favorably upon us and we will gladly serve the 
king.” 

The price exacted by Joseph for the people’s 
salvation made the king more absolute than be- 
fore, since all were thus made dependent on the 
government. The absolute rule of the Egyptian 
kings was somewhat modified by the vast influ- 
ence of the priesthood, to which the king himself 
belonged. The priests of Egypt, under all the 
dynasties, formed the most powerful caste ever 
witnessed among the nations of the earth. At the 
head of it was the king himself, who was the 
chief of religion as well as of the state. He 
regulated the sacrifices of the temples and he 
superintended the feasts and festivals in honor of 
the deities. The priests enjoyed privileges which 
extended to their whole family. They were ex- 
empt from taxes and possessed one-third of the 
landed property. Among them there were dis- 
tinctions of rank, but the high priests held the 
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Joseph 

most honorable places. They directed the service 
in honor of the presiding deities of the cities in 
which they lived, such as the worship of the god 
Amon at Thebes, of the god Phtha at Memphis, 
and of the god Re at Heliopolis. The priests 
were esteemed also for their superior knowledge. 
They acquired an ascendency over the people by 
their supposed understanding of the sacred mys- 
teries. They imposed upon themselves duties 
more severe than those required by any other 
class. How deep and profound was the knowl- 
edge of the Egyptian priests is difficult to settle, 
since it was so carefully guarded. Pythagoras 
made great efforts to be initiated into their 
secrets, but these, it is thought, were withheld 
from him, since he was a foreigner. What he did 
learn, however, formed the foundation of what 
is most valuable in Grecian philosophy. Herodi- 
tus declares that he knew the mysteries, but could 
not divulge them. Moses was skilled in all the 
knowledge of the sacred schools of Egypt, and, 
no doubt, incorporated much of it in his sacred 
writings. Possibly Plato obtained from the 
Egyptian priests his idea of the immortality of 
the soul. Some of the Fathers hold that the 
Egyptians believed in the unity and eternity of 
God, and taught a state of future rewards and 
punishments. But, however lofty were their doc- 

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trines, they had not the power to lift up and 
spiritualize poor human nature. During all this 
time there was a universal prevalence among all 
classes of a degrading superstition and vile poly- 
theism that taught them to worship planets and 
animals and sinful passions and plants; in fact, 
they worshiped everything but God Himself. 
The most popular deities were Siris and Isis. 
They presided at the judgment of the dead. Set, 
the brother of Siris, was the personification of 
evil. Between Siris and Set was a perpetual an- 
tagonism. Moral evil was represented by the 
serpent, an evidence that they retained something 
of primitive revelation, though in a distorted 
form. The most celebrated forms of animal 
worship were the bulls of Memphis, sacred to 
Osiris, and the beetle, sacred to Re. When re- 
cently I visited the beautiful tombs erected to 
these lowly animals by the most civilized of all 
the pagan nations, I realized more thoroughly 
than ever before how powerless is man without 
faith and without God’s grace. For hundreds 
of years Egypt had a civilization that surpassed 
all other nations. Fifteen hundred years before 
Rome was founded, one thousand years before 
the Trojan war, six hundred years before letters 
were introduced into Greece, great architectural 
works existed in Egypt, the remains of which 
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Joseph 

still astonish travelers for their vastness and 
grandeur. In spite of all this greatness, their 
form of religious worship was the most revolting 
ever seen on the earth. 

In the time of Joseph, before the eighteenth 
dynasty, there was in Egypt an estimated popula- 
tion of seven millions, and twenty thousand cities. 
Its literary and scientific accomplishments were 
as high in that day as that of the Chinese of the 
present day. Such was the Egypt which Joseph 
governed with most wonderful ability for more 
than half a century, — nearly four thousand years 
ago. He is to be viewed, not as a prophet or re- 
former or writer, but as a great ruler. He was 
stern, resolute, and inflexible in his relations with 
men. To all appearance he was a born Egyptian, 
as he spoke the language of Egypt and adapted 
himself to its habits and customs. This we see in 
his treatment of his brothers when they came 
down to Egypt to buy corn during the years of 
the famine. When ushered into his presence he 
was apparently harsh to them, although at once 
recognizing them. 

“Whence come you ?” he said roughly to them. 

“From the land of Chanaan to buy necessaries 
of life.” 

“Nay, you are spies.” 

“Not so, my lord, but thy servants are come to 

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buy food. We are all the sons of one man. We 
are come as peaceable men : neither do thy serv- 
ants go about any evil.” 

He answered them : “It is otherwise ; you are 
come to consider the unfenced parts of this land.” 

They said : “We, thy servants, are twelve 
brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Cha- 
naan : the youngest is with our father, the other is 
not living.” 

But Joseph still persisted that they were spies, 
and put them in prison for three days, after which 
he demanded as a condition of their release that 
the youngest should also appear before him. 

“If you be peaceable men,” said he, “let one of 
your brethren be bound in prison, and go ye your 
ways and carry the corn you have bought unto 
your houses, and bring your youngest brother to 
me and you may not die.” 

There was apparently no alternative but to 
perish or to bring Benjamin into Egypt, and the 
brothers were compelled to accept the condition. 
Then their consciences were moved, and they saw 
in this unexpected event a punishment for their 
crime of selling Joseph. Even Ruben accused 
them, and in the very presence of Joseph reminded 
them of their unnatural cruelty, not supposing that 
he understood them. This was too much for the 
stern governor; he turned aside and wept and 
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Joseph 

speedily returned and took from them Simeon and 
bound him before their eyes and retained him for a 
surety. Then he caused their sacks to be filled 
with corn, putting also their money therein, and 
gave them in addition food for their return jour- 
ney. But as one of them on that journey opened 
his sack to give his beast provender, he espied the 
money; and they were all filled with fear at this 
unlooked-for incident. They made haste to reach 
their home and report the strange intelligence to 
their father, including the demand for the appear- 
ance of Benjamin, which filled him with the most 
violent grief. 

He said : ‘^Joseph is not living, Simeon is kept 
in bondage, and Benjamin you will take away.’’ 
Ruben here expostulated with frantic eloquence. 
Jacob, however, persisted : “My son shall not go 
down with you : if any mischief befall him you 
will bring my gray hairs the sooner to the grave.” 

Meanwhile the famine pressed upon the sur- 
rounding country, and Jacob’s family had eaten 
all their corn, and it became necessary to get a 
new supply from Egypt. But Juda refused to go 
without Benjamin. “The man,” he said, “de- 
clared unto us with an oath, ^you shall not see my 
face unless you bring your youngest brother with 
you.’ ” 

Then Jacob upbraided Juda for revealing the 

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number and condition of his family; but Juda 
excused himself on account of the searching 
cross-examination of this austere prime minister 
which no one could resist, and persisted in the 
absolute necessity of Benjamin’s appearance in 
Egypt, unless they all should yield to starvation. 
Moreover, he promised to be surety for his 
brother that no harm should come to him. 

Jacob at last saw the necessity of allowing 
Benjamin to go, and reluctantly gave his consent; 
but in order to placate the terrible man in Egypt 
he ordered his sons to take with them a present of 
spices and balm and almonds, luxuries then in 
great demand, and a double amount of money in 
their sacks to repay what they had received. 
Then in pious resignation he said : “May Al- 
mighty God make him favorable to you and send 
back with you your brother and Benjamin; and 
as for me I shall be desolate without children.” 
He then hurried them away. 

In due time they all arrived in Egypt and with 
Benjamin stood before Joseph and made their 
obeisance, and then excused themselves to Jo- 
seph’s steward because of the money which had 
been returned in their sacks. The steward en- 
couraged them and brought Simeon to them and 
led them into Joseph’s house, where a feast had 
been prepared for them. 

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Joseph 

With great difficulty Joseph restrained his 
feelings at the sight of Benjamin, who was his 
own full brother, but asked kindly about their 
father. At last his pent-up affections gave way 
and he sought his chamber and wept there in 
secret. He then sat down to the banquet with his 
attendants at a separate table (for the Egyptians 
would not eat with foreigners) still unrevealed 
to his brethren, but showed his partiality to Ben- 
jamin by sending him a portion five times greater 
than to the rest. They marvelled greatly that 
they were seated at table according to their 
seniority, and questioned among themselves how 
the austere ruler could know the ages of 
strangers. 

Joseph did not yet declare himself. His broth- 
ers were not yet sufficiently humbled : a severe 
trial still awaited them. As before, he ordered 
his steward to fill their sacks as full as they could 
carry, with every man’s money in them, for he 
would not take his father’s money; and further 
ordered that his silver drinking cup should be put 
in Benjamin’s sack. His brothers had scarcely 
left the city when they were overtaken by the 
steward on a charge of theft and upbraided for 
stealing the silver cup. Of course, they felt their 
innocence and protested it, but it was of no avail, 
although th^y declared that if the cup should be 

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Bible Studies 


found in any one of their sacks, he in whose sack 
it might be should die for the offense. 

The steward took them at their word, pro- 
ceeded to search the sacks ; and behold ! what was 
their surprise and grief to see that the cup was 
found in Benjamin’s sack. They rent their 
clothes in utter despair and returned to the city. 
Joseph received them austerely and declared that 
Benjamin should be retained in Egypt as his serv- 
ant or slave. Then Juda, forgetting in whose 
presence he was, cast aside all fear and made the 
most eloquent and plaintive speech recorded in 
the Bible, offering to remain in Benjamin’s place 
as a slave, for how could he face his father, who 
would surely die of grief at the loss of his favorite 
child. 

Joseph could hide his feelings no longer. He 
ordered every attendant to leave his presence, and 
then declared himself to his brothers, whom God 
had sent to Egypt to be the means of saving their 
lives. The brothers, conscience-stricken and 
ashamed, completely humbled and afraid, could 
not answer his questions. Then Joseph, tenderly 
and in his own language, begged them to come 
near and explained to them that it was not they 
who sent him to Egypt, but God, to work out a 
great deliverance to their posterity and to be a 
father to Pharaoh himself, inasmuch as the 

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Joseph 

famine was to continue five years longer. “Make 
haste and go ye up to my father and say to him 
that God hath made me lord of the whole land of 
Egypt. Come down to me and thou shalt dwell 
in the land of Gessen and thou shalt be near me, 
thou and thy children, and thy children’s children, 
and thy flocks and thy herds, and all things that 
thou hast, and there I will feed thee, and you 
shall tell my father of my glory in Egypt and all 
the things that you have seen ; and you shall make 
haste and bring my father here,” — and he fell on 
Benjamin’s neck and he embraced him and wept 
and kissed all his brothers ; after which they were 
emboldened to speak to him. 

The news that Joseph’s brethren had come to 
Egypt pleased Pharaoh. He could not do enough 
for such a benefactor. “Say to thy brethren: 
load your beasts and go into the land of Chanaan 
and bring away from hence your father and kin- 
dred and come to me ; and I will give you all the 
good things of Egypt, that you may eat the mar- 
row of the land,” and the king commanded him to 
take his wagons to transport their families and 
goods. Joseph also gave to each one of them 
changes of raiment and to Benjamin three hun- 
dred pieces of silver and five changes of raiment 
and ten beasts laden with the good things of 
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Bible Studies 

Egypt for their father : also as many beasts laden 
with provisions for the journey. 

When they arrived at Chanaan and told their 
father all that had happened and all that they had 
seen, he fainted. The news was too good to be 
true; he would not believe them. But when he 
saw the wagon, his spirit revived and he said : 
‘Tt is enough for me if my son Joseph is yet liv- 
ing. I will go and see him before I die.'^ The 
old man is young again in spirit and he imme- 
diately sets out on his journey. 

To Egypt then, Jacob, with his sons and his 
cattle and all his wealth, hastened. His sons are 
astonished at the providence of God so clearly 
demonstrated in their behalf. The reunion and 
reconciliation of the family is complete. All envy 
is buried in the unbounded prosperity of Joseph. 
He is now to be venerated as the instrument of 
God in saving his father’s house and the land of 
Egypt. They all now bow down before him, 
father and sons alike, and the only strife now is 
who shall render him the most honor. He is the 
pride and glory of the family as he is of the land 
of Egypt and of the household of Pharaoh. 

The king settled the Israelites in one of the 
most fertile portions of Egypt and affiliated with 
them as natural friends. They numbered about 
seventy souls, although some historians think 
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Joseph 

there was a much larger number. Jacob was 130 
years of age when he came to dwell in the land 
of Gessen, and he lived seventeen years in Egypt. 
When he died, Joseph was fifty years old and was 
still in power. 

It was the dying wish of the old patriarch to 
be buried with his father, and he made Joseph 
promise to carry his bones to the land of Chanaan 
and to bury them in the sepulcher which Abraham 
had bought over against Mambre. Before Jacob 
died Joseph brought his two sons to him to re- 
ceive his blessing, Manasses and Ephraim, born 
in Egypt, whose grandfather was the high priest 
of Heliopolis, the city of the Sun. As Manasses 
was the elder, he placed him at the right hand of 
Jacob; but the old man designedly laid his right 
hand on Ephraim, which displeased Joseph. But 
Jacob, without giving his reason, persisted. 
While he prophesied that Manasses would be 
great, Ephraim, he said, would be greater, which 
was verified in the fact that the tribe of Ephraim 
was the largest of all the tribes and the most pow- 
erful till the captivity. 

After Jacob had blessed the sons of Joseph, he 
called his own sons around his dying bed to bless 
them and to predict the future of their descend- 
ants. Ruben, the oldest, was told that he would 
not excel because he had committed a shameful 

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Bible Studies 


sin. Simeon and Levi were the most active in 
seeking to compass the death of Joseph, and a 
curse was put on them. He alludes here mys- 
tically to the death of Jesus Christ, whom the 
priests and the scribes, the descendants of Levi 
and Simeon, put to death. Juda was exalted 
above all, for he had sought to save Joseph and 
was eloquent in pleading for Benjamin. It was 
predicted that the scepter should not depart from 
his house till He came Who was to be sent — the 
Messias, the expected of nations. All that Jacob 
predicted about his sons and their remote de- 
scendants came to pass, but the highest blessing 
was accorded to Joseph, as was realized in the 
future ascendency of his son Ephraim. 

When Jacob had finished his blessings and pre- 
dictions, he gathered up his feet into the bed and 
gave up the ghost, and Joseph caused him to be 
embalmed, as was the custom in Egypt. When 
the days of public mourning were over (seventy 
days), Joseph obtained permission from Pharaoh 
to absent himself from the kingdom to bury his 
father according to his wish. And he departed in 
great pomp, with chariots and horses, and depos- 
ited the remains of Jacob in the cave of the field 
of Mambre, where Abraham himself was buried, 
and then returned to his duties in Egypt. 

It is not mentioned in Scripture how long 

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Joseph 

Joseph retained his power as prime minister of 
Pharaoh, but probably till a new dynasty suc- 
ceeded to the throne. He lived to be i lo years of 
age, and when he died his body was embalmed 
and placed in a sarcophagus and ultimately was 
carried to Chanaan and buried with his father. 
His last words were a prediction that God would 
bring the children of Isreal out of Egypt to the 
land which he gave to Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob. 

Joseph is one of the most interesting charac- 
ters of the Bible, one of the most fortunate and 
one of the most faultless. He resisted most pow- 
erful temptations against chastity, and there is no 
recorded act which sullies his memory. Although 
most of his life was spent among idolators and 
he married a pagan woman, yet he remained 
faithful to the God of his fathers and brought 
up his children in the true faith, — a splendid ex- 
ample for some of our Catholic men who marry 
Protestant or pagan women at the sacrifice of 
their eternal salvation. 

Joseph always considered himself a stranger in 
a strange land, although its supreme governor 
had lovingly looked to Chanaan as to the future 
beloved home of his family and race. He re- 
garded his residence in Egypt only as a means of 
preserving the lives of his kindred, and himself 

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Bible Studies 


as an instrument to benefit his family and the 
country which he ruled. His life was one of 
extraordinary usefulness. He had great execu- 
tive talents, which he exercised for the good of 
others. Though stern in his official duties, he 
had intense natural affections. His heart went 
out to his old father and to all his kindred with 
inexpressible tenderness. He was free from guile 
and false pride. He took no pains to conceal his 
birth and lineage in the most aristocratic country 
in the world. His life was unostentatious and 
his habits simple. He was faithful to the interests 
of his sovereign and greatly increased the royal 
authority. He got possession of the whole prop- 
erty of the nation for the benefit of his royal 
master, but exacted only one-fifth of the products 
of the land for the support of the government. 
His services to Egypt were transcendent, but his 
supreme mission was to preserve the Hebrew 
nation. 

Joseph, dispensing the corn of Egypt, is con- 
sidered a figure of Jesus Christ feeding the 
nations of the world with the bread of the most 
holy Eucharist. His admirable charity is a figure 
of that unparalleled goodness which we adore in 
our Blessed Savior, who, sold by his own breth- 
ren, not alone pardoned them for the cruel death 
they put Him to, but also made His blood, shed 
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Joseph 

upon the cross, the price of their eternal salvation 
and the ransom of their souls. 

It is impossible to tell just what advance in 
civilization was made by the Israelites during 
their sojourn in Egypt. They must have learned 
many useful arts and many principles of jurispru- 
dence, and acquired an advanced knowledge of 
agriculture. They learned to be patient under 
oppression and wrong, and to be frugal and in- 
dustrious in their habits, and obedient to the voice 
of their leaders. Had the children of Israel re- 
mained in the promised land in the early part of 
their history, they would, in all probability, have 
perished by famine or have been absorbed by 
their powerful neighbors. In the land of Cha- 
naan they would have been only a pastoral people 
unable to defend themselves in war. Hence, the 
slavery of the Israelites in Egypt may have been 
a blessing in disguise, from which they emerged 
when they were able to take care of themselves. 
Moses led them out of bondage, but Moses also 
incorporated in his laws the wisdom of the Egyp- 
tians. He was indeed inspired to declare the 
great fundamental truths of religion, but he also 
taught the lessons of experience which a great 
nation had acquired during two thousand years of 
prosperity. 

Who can measure the civilization which the 

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Bible Studies 

Israelites carried out of Egypt? Where else, at 
that period, could they have found such teachers ? 
They were no longer a nomadic people, as in the 
time of Jacob, but small farmers who had learned 
to irrigate their barren hills and till their fertile 
valleys; and they became a powerful nation, un- 
conquered by invaders for a thousand years. ^ 
From one man, the patriarch Abraham, did this 
great nation rise, and it did not lose its national 
unity and independence until from the tribe of 
Juda a deliverer arose in the person of Jesus 
Christ, who redeemed the human race. Surely 
Joseph was favored by divine Providence in be- 
ing the instrument to preserve this nation in its 
infancy, by placing its people in a rich and fertile 
country to learn principles of civilization which 
makes them a permanent power in the progress 
of humanity. 


(42) 


MOSES 


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MOSES 



MONG the grand actors in the world’s his- 


tory must surely be presented the man who 


-^gave the first recorded impulse to civiliza- 
tion, and who is the most august character of 
antiquity. He is certainly the greatest man in 
the history of the Jews. There is no subject 
which bears more directly on the elemental prin- 
ciples of theological truth and practical morality 
than a consideration of the Mosaic code. 

Whether as a man of God or as a sacred his- 
torian, or as an inspired prophet, or as a heroic 
liberator and leader of a favored nation, or as a 
profound and original legislator, Moses stands 
out as a wonderful man, not in the eyes of the 
Jews alone, but before all enlightened nations and 
ages. 

He was raised up by God to impress his mind 
and character upon all nations, and he has linked 
his name with the progress of the human race. 
He arose at a great crisis, when a new dynasty 
reigned in Egypt, not as friendly as the preceding 
ones had been to the children of Israel, but a 
dynasty which had expelled the shepherd kings 


( 45 ) 


Bible Studies 

and looked with fear and jealousy upon this alien 
race which already numbered over two millions of 
souls. The new Pharaoh, Rameses II., attempted 
to crush their spirit by harsh laws and unjust 
exactions, but in this he failed. As they contin- 
ued to multiply, he sent forth the dreadful edict 
that every male child should be destroyed as ^oon 
as born. It was then that God raised up Moses, 
who was descended from the tribe of Levi. He 
was born 1571 B. C. 

I need not relate the pathetic story of his con- 
cealment for three months by his mother, his 
exposure on the banks of the Nile, in a basket 
made of bulrushes ; his rescue by the daughter of 
Pharaoh, his adoption by this powerful princess, 
his education in the royal household and in the 
schools of the priests. He tells the story himself 
with singular pathos and beauty in the brief space 
of six lines. 

We know nothing more about him till the age 
of forty, when he slays an Egyptian overseer who 
was oppressing his brethren. He is forced to flee 
from the country, as in all probability his Hebrew 
parentage and dangerous sympathies were made 
known to the king. But he is not yet prepared 
for the mighty task which God assigns him. He 
must pass through a period of preparation, learn 
patience, mature his knowledge, and gain moral 

(46) 


Moses 


force, which can be best attained by retirement 
prayer and contemplation. 

So he retires to the deserts of Midian, on the 
eastern shore of the Red Sea, and is received by 
Jethro, a priest of Midian, whose flocks he tends 
and whose daughter he marries. Here he finds 
the retirement needed in preparation for his fu- 
ture work. Here he communes with God, whom 
he adores. Here, still fresh in all the learning of 
the schools of Egypt, and with the experience of 
forty years, he is inspired to write the Pentateuch, 
in which he narrates events more important and 
truths more lofty than all the secular historians 
of the world in their collective volumes. It is a 
marvel of historic art, a model of composition, an 
important work of an inspired genius, the oldest 
and the greatest written history of which we have 
record. 

What poetry, pathos, and eloquence ; what sim- 
plicity and beauty; what rich and varied lessons 
of human experience; what treasures of moral 
wisdom are revealed in this book ! How sub- 
limely the poet and prophet narrates the misery of 
the fall of man and the promised glories of the 
redemption! How concisely the historian com- 
prises the incidents of patriarchal life, the rise of 
empires, the fall of cities, the real happiness of 
faith, friendship, and love! All that is vital in 

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the history of thousands of years is condensed 
into a few chapters, not dry and barren annals, 
but descriptions of characters and the unfolding 
of emotions and sensibilities, and the insight into 
the principles of moral government which indi- 
cates a providence of God, planting faith in a 
world of sin, and consolation amid the wrqck of 
human greatness. 

Thus, when Moses had passed forty years in 
study, in literary composition, in religious medi- 
tation and active duties, in sight of grand and 
barren mountains, years which must have fa- 
miliarized him with every road and cattle-drive 
and sheep-walk, every hill and peak, every valley 
and water-course, every timber belt and oasis in 
the Sinaitic wilderness, through which his provi- 
dentially-trained military instincts were to safely 
conduct a vast multitude, he is fitted for his ex- 
alted mission as a deliverer. And now he is 
directly called by the voice of God Himself amid 
the wonders of the burning bush. 

He quakes before that awful voice out of the 
midst of the burning bush which commissions 
him to deliver his brethren. He is no longer bold, 
impatient and impetuous, but timid and modest. 
Long study and seclusion have made him dis- 
trustful of himself. He replies to the great 
Jehovah: '‘Who am I that I should go to 

(48) 


Moses 


Pharaoh and should bring forth my people, the 
children of Israel, out of Egypt? Behold, I am 
not eloquent; they will not believe me, nor hear 
my voice !” 

In spite of his wonderful miracle of the rod, 
Moses obeys reluctantly, and Aaron, his elder 
brother, is appointed as his spokesman. Armed 
with the mysterious wonder-working rod, at 
length Moses and Aaron appear before Pharaoh 
and in the name of the God of Israel request per- 
mission for Israel to go and hold a feast in the 
wilderness. They do not demand emancipation 
or emigration, which would be denied. The 
haughty king refuses to grant the request of 
Moses and Aaron, but renews the persecution of 
the Hebrews. Then followed the successive 
plagues and calamities sent upon the Egyptians, 
which finally extorted the unwilling consent of 
Pharaoh to permit Israel to worship the God of 
Moses in the wilderness, lest greater evils should 
befall them than the destruction of the first-born 
throughout the land. The deliverance of the 
Jews is at last miraculously effected. 

This begins the third period of the history of 
Moses as leader and ruler of God’s chosen people. 
The real labors and trials of Moses began with 
the crossing of the Red Sea. The people murmur 
and are filled with fears as they find themselves 

( 49 ) 


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in the wilderness. They witness the tremendous 
miracle of the destruction of Pharaoh’s hosts, the 
mysterious manna of forty years in the desert, the 
pillar of fire at night to guide them, and the pro- 
tecting cloud in the day time to shelter them from 
the desert sun, the smitten rock of Horeb and the 
still more impressive wonders of Sinai, and their 
unbelief and gross superstition are scarcely 
lessened. They are a sensual, degraded people. 

During the forty years in the desert they are 
forgetful of favors, rebellious, childish in their 
desire to return to a country where they had been 
more oppressed than any other people of ancient 
times. They murmur for flesh meat; they make 
golden calves to worship ; they seek a new leader 
when Moses delays on the Mount : when any new 
danger threatens, they lay the blame on Moses; 
they even foolishly regret that they had not died 
in Egypt. 

It is evident that such a people were not pre- 
pared for freedom, nor for the conquest of the 
promised land. They were as timid and cowardly 
as they were rebellious. A new generation must 
arise, disciplined by forty years’ experience and 
made hardy and strong by exposure and suffer- 
ing. Yet what nation in the world’s history im- 
proved so much in forty years ? What ruler ever 
did so much for a people in a single reign? In 

(so) 


Moses 


forty years this race of slaves is transformed into 
a nation of valiant warriors, made subject to laws, 
and made familiar with the fundamental princi- 
ples of civilization. What a marvelous change 
effected by the wisdom of one great man in com- 
munion with Almighty God !” 

The distinguishing feature in the wonderful 
works of Moses during these forty years, by 
which he linked his name with all subsequent 
ages till Christ appeared, was his system of juris- 
prudence. The moral code of Moses, which is 
based on immutable truth for the rule of all 
nations till the end of time, rests on the funda- 
mental principles of morality and theology. How 
lofty and sublime this code, binding the conscience 
of all minds, producing convictions that no soph- 
istry can weaken, in every age and nation with 
irresistible and terrific bonds ! 

Those Ten Commandments engraved on the 
two tablets of stone and preserved in the holy and 
innermost sanctuary of the Jews, form the car- 
dinal principles of our Catholic faith. They were 
reaffirmed by Jesus Christ and made foundation 
stones of the great Church He came on earth to 
establish. Yet it was through Moses those Com- 
mandments came. He was commissioned by 
Almighty God to declare to the world, clearly and 
authoritatively, the moral code that all nations 
( 51 ) 


Bible Studies 

and peoples and tribes are to follow till the end 
of tim^. In it he exposes the dreadful sin of idol- 
atry, to which all nations are prone, and which 
Almighty God visits with dreadful penalties, since 
it implies rebellion against Him, the supreme 
Ruler of the universe. “I am the Lord, thy God, 
who brought thee out of the land of Egypt! 
Thou shalt have no strange Gods before me,’’ etc. 

So sacred and awful is the name of this great 
God that in the second commandment it is made a 
mortal sin, even to utter in vain, in levity or in 
blasphemy. Then, in order to keep Him in the 
minds of men, a day is especially appointed, the 
seventh day of the week (changed to the first day 
under the new dispensation), which makes it the 
bounden duty, as well as the privilege of all gen- 
erations, to keep holy a day of rest from labor, as 
well as a day of prayer and adoration. 

After thus making it obligatory for all men to 
render supreme allegiance to God, Moses lays 
down the duties of men to each other, chiefly 
those which pertain to the abstaining from the 
injuries they are most tempted to commit, thus 
covering in a few sentences the primal obligations 
of mankind to God and to society, which were 
expanded afterwards by Jesus Christ into the 
more comprehensive law of the love of God and 
of our neighbor, so as to bind together men on 
(52) 


Moses 


earth as it binds together the saints and angels in 
Heaven. All nations have accepted these ten 
commandments which never can be changed nor 
abrogated. These commandments are the foun- 
dations of the subsequent and more minute code 
of law given by Moses to the Jews. 

The great fundamental principles of these laws 
have, more or less, entered into the laws of all 
Christian nations, from the decline of the Roman 
Empire down to our time : they were designated 
for Jews and Gentiles alike. They may seem 
severe in some of their applications, but they are 
never unjust, and as long as the world endures 
the relations between man and man are to be 
settled on those lofty moral grounds. An ele- 
vated morality is the expressed aim of all enlight- 
ened law-givers, for the prosperity of nations is 
built upon it. 

Culture is desirable, but remember that the 
welfare of nations is based on morals rather than 
on aesthetics. On this point Moses surpasses all 
ancient and modern law-givers, for he makes 
God the rewarder of virtuous actions and the 
punisher of wicked deeds. Moses, from first to 
last, insists imperatively on the doctrine of per- 
sonal responsibility to God, which acknowledges 
Him as the Ruler and Lord of the world. When 
enforcing this great cardinal truth, he is dog- 

( 53 ) 


Bible Studies 

matic, as an ambassador and prophet’ of the Most 
High God should be. 

Moses does not reason nor speculate: he ap- 
peals to the law written on the heart of mankind. 
What he declares to be duties are not even to be 
discussed. They are to be obeyed with unhesitat- 
ing and prompt obedience. The obligation to 
obey them is seen at once as soon as they are de- 
clared. These are the principles of the Catholic 
Church. What he says in regard to the relations 
of master and servant, of injuries inflicted on the 
body, of the respect due to parents and superiors, 
of the protection of the widow, the orphan, and 
the unfortunate, of delicacy in the treatment of 
women, of unjust judgments, of bribery and cor- 
ruption, of revenge, hatred, and covetousness, of 
falsehood and talebearing, of impurity, theft, 
murder, and adultery, can never be disputed, even 
by savages, if they acknowledge God. Moses 
taught no errors, though he tolerated some abuses 
“which in the beginning did not exist.’’ 

The ceremonial law, which is an important part 
of the Mosaic code, constantly points to Jehovah 
as the King of the Jews, as well as their Supreme 
Deity, for whose worship the rites and ceremonies 
have been devised with great minuteness to keep 
His personality constantly before their minds. 
Moreover, all their rites and ceremonials were 

(54) 


Moses 


typical and emblematical of the promised Savior 
who was to come. He was to be the Redeemer 
of the whole race, and hence these rites and sac- 
rifices were symbolical of Him who should offer 
Himself as a sacrifice on the cross for the sins of 
the whole world. 

In these ancient rites and ceremonies we wit- 
ness a service that reminds us of what may be 
seen in every Catholic Church, the world over, in 
the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the 
Mass. It was carried out with psalms and hymns 
in their grand temple, with beautiful vestments 
and smoking altars, all that could inspire awe and 
reverence. We behold the sacred tabernacle made 
of gold and silver and precious woods and gor- 
geous tapestries, with inner and secret recesses 
to contain the ark and the tablets of stone, the 
mysterious rod, the urn of manna, the book of 
the Covenant, the gold throne canopied by cher- 
ubim with outstretched wings, and the mercy seat 
where God presided, the sacred and costly vessels, 
the candlesticks of pure gold, the sanctuary lamps, 
the brazen serpent, the embroidered vestments of 
the priests, the breastplate of precious stones, the 
golden chains, the emblematic rings, the ephods 
and mitres and girdles, the various altars for 
sacrifice, the rites for cleansing leprosy and all 
uncleanliness, the great atonements and solemn 

( 55 ) 


Bible Studies 

feasts and joyful festivals; all were calculated to 
make a lasting impression on the people. The 
rites and ceremonies of the Jews were so at- 
tractive that they, in a certain sense, satisfied the 
cravings of the human heart. 

Our beautiful Catholic churches, with their 
stained glass windows, marble altars, elaborate 
decorations, beautiful representations of saints 
and angels, classic music, and grand ceremonial, 
appeal more to the heart and intellect to-day than 
did the grand ceremonial and surroundings of the 
temple in the times of David and Solomon. The 
Catholic ritual vitalizes religious worship and lifts 
the soul to God. Even those who lost all relish 
for these ceremonies three hundred years ago 
have revived their observance in many places of 
worship; but without the real presence of Christ 
in the Holy Eucharist they are meaningless forms. 
The ceremonial of Moses foreshadowed the 
splendid liturgy of the Catholic Church. 

The social and civil code of Moses was in- 
tended to keep the Jews from the abominations of 
the other nations, especially idolatry, and even to 
make them repulsive to foreigners in order to 
keep them away from the occasion of sin. Their 
dress was peculiar ; so were their customs. When 
they visited they abstained from meats, and when 
they received, their visitors were compelled to 

(56) 


Moses 


submit to Jewish restraints. The laws laid down 
were calculated by Moses to keep the nation sep- 
arate, so as not to be exposed to the danger of 
falling away from their religious practices by the 
bad example of the pagan nations surrounding 
them. It is this same principle that has preserved 
the faith of Jesus Christ in the hearts of our 
Catholic people. Wherever they have blended 
with people without religion or with a false re- 
ligion many of them have lost faith. This also 
accounts for the position of the Church on mixed 
marriages and the school question. There is gen- 
erally a danger of the loss of faith, or at least the 
weakening of faith attending them. 

Moses even discouraged commerce, not because 
it was in itself demoralizing, but because it 
brought the Jews too much in contact with cor- 
rupt nations. He recognized the peaceful virtues 
rather than the warlike ones. He encouraged 
agricultural industry, manufacturing enterprises, 
and professional life, rather than waste and de- 
struction. He would develop and encourage na- 
tional resources and general prosperity, rather 
than great expansion. He would have the nation 
for defense, but not for aggression. He made it 
depend upon its militia rather than on horses and 
chariots, which were in those days the means 

( 57 ) 


Bible Studies 


designed for distant expeditions and military ag- 
grandizement. 

Many of his civic laws would do credit and 
be a blessing to modern legislation. He made the 
people the ultimate source of authority, next to 
the authority of God. He defined political power, 
and divided it among the people so as to consti- 
tute a wise balance, which would always hinder 
abuses. He instituted legislative assemblies to 
discuss peace and war and elect the officers of the 
state. While there was a complete union of 
church and state, yet he separated the civil from 
the religious. Both branches were well defined. 
The state upheld the church, and the church the 
state, which is the ideal state ; but the functions of 
the priest and the functions of the magistrate 
were distinct. Above all power of church and 
state was the power of God, to whom the judges 
and kings and supreme magistrates were respon- 
sible. Upon Him alone were the Jews to rely in 
all times of danger; in Him alone was help to be 
found. 

It it a remarkable thing that whenever the Jews 
relied on chariots and horses and foreign allies 
they were delivered into the hands of their ene- 
mies. It was only when they fell back upon the 
protecting arm of their Eternal God that they 
were rescued and saved. The mightiest monarch 

(58) 


Moses 


ruled with only delegated power from Him. This 
beautiful ideal was realized in many places dur- 
ing the Middle Ages, — the ages of faith, when 
Jesus Christ ruled supreme. For instance, in 
Florence for many years the people elected Jesus 
Christ to rule their city. The golden throne, 
which no man ever occupied, is still preserved 
among the precious relics of the past. 

Moses instilled the laws of humanity into the 
hearts of the Jews. Would that our modern 
legislators would meditate upon this wonderful 
code of social economy. He enacted that all 
slaves should be emancipated every fifty years ; 
that all debtors should be freed from their obliga- 
tions every seven years ; that the poor should have 
certain privileges in gleaning the fields; that hu- 
man life was most sacred; that parents should 
educate their children at their own expense, and 
according to their social condition; that there 
should be a just division of inherited property; 
and that paternal inheritances were inalienable. 
He discouraged all luxury, extravagance, and the 
vast accumulation of wealth, which was one of 
the main causes that led to the downfall of the 
Roman Empire and is now one of the most 
threatening evils of our own dear country. 

The civil and social laws of the Jewish com- 
monwealth tended to the elevation of woman and 

( 59 ) 


Bible Studies 

the cultivation of domestic life. Parents were 
respected by their children, wives were faithful 
to their husbands, and husbands were faithful to 
their wives; the home was the charmed circle 
where pleasure and delights abounded, where 
love reigned and where friendship and due regard 
for the happiness of others were cultivated. Such 
was the great work of Moses, such the marvelous 
legislation he gave to the Jews, involving prin- 
ciples which have been accepted by every Chris- 
tian nation the world over. 

Instructed by God, Moses led the Israelites out 
of the land of bondage, through a forty years’ 
pilgrimage, during which time he preserved them 
from lapsing into idolatry. He gave them a sys- 
tem of laws, moral, ceremonial, and civic, which 
kept them a powerful and peculiar people for 
upwards of a thousand years, and secured a pros- 
perity for them which culminated in the glorious 
reigns of David and Solomon. Thus did he 
fulfill his task and deliver the message entrusted 
to his inspired pen. What disinterestedness 
marks his whole career! With what eloquence 
does he plead for his people when the anger of the 
Lord is kindled against them ! How patient he is 
in the performance of his duty ! With what stern 
and awful majesty does he lay down the law! 
What inspiration lights up his features as he de- 
(6o) 


Moses 


scends the Mount with the tablets in his hands; 
how terrible he is amid the thunders and light- 
nings of Sinai; at the rock of Horeb; at the 
dances around the golden calf ; at the rebellion of 
Korah and Dathan ; at the waters of Meribah and 
the burning of Nadab and Abihu ! How efficient 
he is in the administration of justice, yet how 
gentle, forgiving, tender and accessible! How 
sad he is when the people grow weary of the 
heavenly manna and seek flesh meat ! How 
nobly does he plead with the king of Edom for a 
passage through his territories! How humbly 
does he call on God for help amid perplexing 
cares ! Never was there a man armed with such 
authority who was so patient and so self-distrust- 
ful. 

At length, at 120 years of age, with undimmed 
eye and unabated strength, after having done 
more for his nation and for posterity than any 
ruler in the world’s history, and after having won 
a fame which shall last through all the genera- 
tions of men, the time comes for him to lay down 
his burdens. He assembles together the princes 
and elders of Israel and gives his final instruc- 
tions. He appoints Joshua as his successor, adds 
words of encouragement to the people whom he 
so fervently loves, sings his final song, and 
ascends the Mountain of Moab, from which he is 
(61) 


Bible Studies 


permitted to see, but not to enter, the promised 
land. So Moses, the greatest man in Jewish his- 
tory, passes away from mortal sight, and the 
angels of Jehovah bury him in a valley of the 
land of Moab, and no man hath known of his 
sepulchre until this present day. 


(62) 


JOB 






JOB 



MONG the books of the Old Testament 


there is an inspired poem which will 


^ ^ ever be cherished by all Christian na- 
tions as a masterpiece of religious perfection. 
It is called the “Book of Job.” The author and 
the age of this noble work of genius are un- 
known. Some critics suppose that it was pro- 
duced during the patriarchal age ; others attrib- 
ute it to Moses; others again conjecture that it 
was written in the time of Solomon ; and some 
place it even after the captivity. The question 
of its age or authorship may never be settled, 
but it will ever remain a glorious poem, a won- 
d,erful mystery, which attempts to explain why 
God permits trials and afflictions to befall His 
most faithful children. 

The central figure of this great religious 
drama is a venerable old man, — rich in experi- 
ence, deep in reflection, keen in observation, — 
a prince abounding in patriarchal possessions, 
with flocks and herds ; with a large family living 
in honor and dignity ; humane, hospitable, up- 
right, performing his duties as conscience bade 


(6s) 


Bible Studies 

him, revered by all who knew him, and at peace 
with himself and his God. In short, a perfect 
man, “so that there was nothing like him on all 
the earth.’’ 

His wife appears but once to our view, and 
then only to utter a few bitter words and pass 
forever out of sight. Of his children, little is 
said, except that on a certain day they feasted, 
and for fear that they had sinned in their revel- 
lings, the pious old father offered to God a sac- 
rifice of expiation for each one. The next per- 
son we meet is called Satan, an evil spirit, 
whose office, it would appear, was to wander up 
and down the earth and report to the Supreme 
Majesty of heaven on the actions of men here 
below. This is a very different conception of 
Satan from that of Milton, whose Satan had 
been cast down from heaven for rebellion 
against God, into an eternal pit of misery and 
despair ; or from the Satan of Dante, who rules 
the city of Dis. He is more like the Satan of 
Goethe, who sneers at virtue and denies the 
.existence of genuine goodness in man. 

In the Book of Job he is made to appear 
among the sons of God, and is incredulous as to 
the existence of real disinterested virtue. And 
the Lord said to him: “Whence comest thou?” 
And he answered: “I have gone round about 
( 66 ) 


Job 


the earth and walked through it.” And the 
Lord continued : “Hast thou considered my 
servant Job, that there is none like him in the 
earth; a man single and upright, and fearing 
God and avoiding evil ?” And Satan answered : 
“Doth Job fear God in vain? Hast Thou not 
made a fence for him and his house and all his 
substance round about, blessed the works of his 
hands, and his possession hath increased on the 
earth ? But stretch forth Thy hand a little and 
touch all that he hath and see if he blesseth 
Thee not to Thy face.” 

It would seem that Satan did not deny that 
the life of Job, in all its outward forms, was 
virtuous; but he attributed his virtue to the 
absence of temptation and trial, thus denying 
that man can resist temptation or remain faith- 
ful to God when subjected to bitter ordeals. 
The principle here educed is one that is daily 
contradicted by the lives of Christians who live 
up to the teachings of Christ. In fact, it is an 
opinion that is held almost universally by 
worldly-minded people and unbelievers. They 
do not think that it is possible to live a virtuous 
life. 

God is willing to subject His servant Job to 
the test, so He allows Satan to take away his 
earthly goods, and even to deprive him of his 

(67) 


Bible Studies 


children. This last affliction is a cross most 
difficult to be borne. It often drives good men 
into rebellion, but Job maintains his self-pos- 
session. He is, indeed, bowed down with grief 
and torn by agonies, but he does not rebel 
against the hand that smites him. While he 
rends his garments and shaves his head, and 
throws himself upon the ground, he yet, with 
the spirit of perfect resignation, exclaims : ‘^The 
Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away : as it 
hath pleased the Lord so is it done : blessed be 
the name of the Lord.” 

Satan appears again among the sons of God, 
and is asked the same question as before, and is 
told that Job is still faithful. Satan now be- 
comes cruel and heartless. “Skin for skin,” 
said he, “and all that man hath, he will give for 
his life. But put forth Thy hand, touch his 
bone and his flesh, and then Thou shalt see that 
he will bless Thee to Thy face.” God allows 
this additional trial, and His servant is covered 
with sores from the sole of his foot to the top of 
his head. LFlcers, loathsome blotches and in- 
tolerable itchings, make life unbearable for 
him. His only relief is scratching himself with 
a potsherd. He sits on a dunghill as a sign of 
the deepest misery and suffering, and sins not. 

His sufferings are so terrible that his wife 

(68) 


Job 


counsels him to end his misery by taking his 
own life. Her advice is spurned. "‘Thou hast 
spoken like one of the foolish women : if we 
have received good things at the hand of the 
Lord why should we not receive evil ?” In all 
these things Job did not sin with his lips. 

Job triumphs, and Satan, baffled, crestfallen 
and defeated, retires from the scene and appears 
no more. However, Job has yet much to suffer. 
The real conflict is to begin when his three 
friends come to console and comfort him. Their 
half truths stagger him. They are all pious 
men, virtuous, sympathetic, and strictly relig- 
ious. When they behold him they are filled 
with compassion and lift their voices and weep 
bitterly. They sit down on the ground with 
him for seven days and seven nights, and never 
utter a word of consolation. How delicate their 
treatment ! How profound their grief ! How 
consoling to the poor, persecuted Job ! How 
true to nature is this picture of false friendship ! 
The world over, it is the same familiar story. 
Friendships are often sacrificed for some world- 
ly advantage or for some trifling honor. 

At length Job breaks silence. He is so over- 
powered with grief and pain that he bemoans 
the day of his birth. He wishes for death and 
utters sundry imprecations, not on God or men, 

(69) 


Bible Studies 


but in the form of asking why he was thus 
afflicted. He gives way to his feelings with 
great vehemence. He invokes darkness and 
the shadow of death. "‘Let the stars be dark- 
ened ; let it expect light and not see it, nor the 
rising of the dawning of the day.” 

Then Eliphaz, the oldest and most respected 
of the friends, approaches Job tenderly and ut- 
ters some general truths. “Shall man be justi- 
fied in comparison with God, or shall a man be 
more pure than his Maker? Man is born in 
labor. Blessed is the man whom God correct- 
eth. Refuse not, therefore, the chastising hand 
of the Lord.” He intimates that terrible judg- 
ments are not sent upon the innocent. These 
truths, though kindly told, do not touch Job’s 
case. The mystery why God suffers afflictions 
to befall His faithful servant, remains. Job 
knew that he was not perfect, but he was also 
conscious of no grievous sin. His faith comes 
to the assistance of his soul. He is never more 
sublime than when on the dunghill. 

Then Baldad, the second consoler, speaks : 
“How long wilt thou speak these things, and 
how long shall the words of thy mouth be like 
a strong wind? Doth God pervert judgment, 
or doth the Almighty overthrow that which is 
just? If thou wilt walk clean and upright, He 

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Job 


will presently awake unto thee, and will make 
the dwelling of thy justice, peaceable.” Baldad 
here casts reflections on Job’s sincerity, and in- 
sinuates some secret sin for which he is pun- 
ished. He reiterates the general truths of the 
justice of God, which Eliphaz has declared, and 
sees in the afflictions of his friend, only the 
Divine chastisement for his sins. Neither of 
these good men could soar beyond this half 
truth. 

Job, in his unclouded intellect, shows the 
fallacy of their reasonings. He astonishes them 
with the declaration that God destroyeth the 
just man, and in support of this truth he brings 
the great fact that the earth is given into the 
hands of the wicked. Then he plaintively ap- 
peals to God to mitigate his sufferings, for at 
least awhile, so that he may prepare for his final 
passage from this land of exile. 

Sophar, the last of the so-called friends, then 
takes up the argument, demanding that Job 
should repent and humble himself for his sins, 
which he has doubtless committed, and for 
which he is now suffering. He reiterates, with 
greater vehemence and with even more harsh- 
ness, what the others have already expressed. 
He persists in the assumption of the others, that 
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Job has committed some secret sin for which he 
should repent. 

Job then scornfully and ironically turns upon 
his unprofitable friends. ^'Are you then men 
alone, and shall wisdom die with you? I also 
have a heart as well as you, for who is ignorant 
of these things which you know? Everybody 
knows them ; even the beasts and the birds and 
the fishes will tell you of the wonderful power 
of God, and to Him I will speak. Ye are forg- 
ers of lies and maintainers of perverse opinions. 
I wish you would hold your peace that you 
might be thought to be wise men, for your wise 
sayings shall be compared to ashes.” He now 
rises above his despair to the realms of faith. 
“Although He should kill me, I will trust in 
Him.” 

He then sadly moralizes on the lot of mortals. 
“Man born of woman, living for a short time, is 
filled with many miseries. Who cometh forth 
like a flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth as a 
shadow and never continueth in the same 
state.” He then speaks of the immortality of 
the soul; a doctrine always held by the Jews. 
“Shall man that is dead, thinkest thou, live 
again? all the days in which I am now in war- 
fare, I expect until my change comes. Thou 
shalt call me and I will answer Thee.” In view 
C72) 


Job 


of a future state of happiness, he strives to be 
patient in his great sufferings. The thought of 
immortality brings comfort to his mind. 

Eliphaz again speaks, and reproaches him for 
maintaining his innocence. “What is man that 
he should be without spot, and that he is born 
of woman, that he should appear just? Why 
the heavens are not clean in the sight of infinite 
holiness and how much less is man.” He goes 
over the same ground as before, affirming that 
there is no such thing as human perfection ; that 
he could not be innocent since he was a suffer- 
er ; that he suffers as wicked men always suffer ; 
that he is condemned out of his own mouth, 
inasmuch as his innocence is an impossibility. 
In short, that he is adding untruthfulness to his 
other sins. What these are, he does not pre- 
tend to know. He knows only one thing, — that 
no man is perfect. That no man liveth that 
sinneth not. He even accuses Job of impurity, 
bribery, robbery, lying and even murder, of 
being not only a miserable sinner, but also a 
vile criminal. 

Job is fairly driven to despair, and he vents 
himself in mingled reproaches and lamenta- 
tions. His reproaches are bitter. “Miserable 
comforters are ye all,” he exclaims, “return ye, 
for I cannot find a wise man among you.” His 

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lamentations are most plaintive. ‘'As for me, 
I have made my bed in darkness. I have to say 
to rottenness, thou art my father ; and to 
worms, thou art my mother and my sister ; and 
where is now my expectation ? My face is foul 
with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow 
of death. My witness is in heaven, my friends 
are my mockers. Unto God my eye poureth 
tears !” He is prepared to meet death. He 
expects no vindication on earth from his 
friends, but he appeals to God and declares his 
innocence. But the more he asserts his inno- 
cence, the fiercer are his friends. 

“How long,” exclaims Baldad, “will you 
affiict my soul and break me to pieces with 
words?” In his eyes, Job is nothing less than 
a liar and hypocrite ; and with loud eloquence 
he proclaims the total destruction of the evil 
doer. Job again pleads plaintively with his 
merciless friends to spare him, since it is God 
who has afflicted him so grievously. He enu- 
merates his trials and miseries, and confidently 
expects that his end will soon come. “Have 
pity on me, have pity on me, at least you, my 
friends, for the hand of the Lord hath touched 
me.” 

So confident is he of the truth of what he says 
that he exclaims : “Who will grant that my 

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Job 


words may be written in books, and that they 
may be engraven with an iron pen upon the 
rocks He would thus appeal to posterity. 
And then, apparently feeling that death was 
rapidly approaching, he rises into the regions of 
lofty faith, and utters these memorable words 
that have come down to us over the centuries 
for our consolation. ‘‘I know that my Redeem- 
er liveth ; and in the last day I shall be clothed 
again with my skin, and in my flesh I shall see 
my God ; whom I myself shall see, and not an- 
other: this, my hope, is laid up in my bosom.” 

Here he announces his belief in the immortal- 
ity of the soul. He says without reserve that 
after death his soul shall see God, and that then 
justice will be rendered unto him by his Crea- 
tor. Though he has not yet learned perfect 
resignation to the will of God, or gentleness to 
his would-be friends who preach their half 
truths for his spiritual good, yet he believes 
confidently in his final vindication. He finds 
some comfort in the idea that his false accusers 
will meet their just deserts in the great here- 
after. 

One would suppose that his friends would 
now let him alone ; but Sophar, with offensive 
prejudice, reiterates his reproaches and paints 
the future condition of the wicked. At last 

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Job, in the midst of tears and sufferings, conde- 
scends to reason with them. He accepts the 
challenge of his friends. Thus far he has con- 
tented himself with denying that suffering is 
necessarily a consequence of evil doing; now he 
goes further and declares that the wicked are 
quite as likely to flourish in this life as the good. 
He appeals to their experience, to facts which 
they cannot deny. ‘‘Why, then, do the wicked 
live and become even mighty in power, so that 
their homes are secure and peaceable, and the 
rod of God is not upon them? They spend 
their days in wealth and rejoice in the sound of 
music. They have even said to God : ‘Depart 
from us, we desire not knowledge of Thy ways. 
Who is the Almighty God that we would serve 
Him? and what doth it profit us if we pray to 
Him? One dieth strong and hale, rich and 
happy; another in the bitterness of his soul 
without any riches ; and they shall sleep togeth- 
er in the dust and the worms shall cover 
them.’ ” 

What a great truth is here proclaimed, that 
virtue is not the sure and sole cause of outward 
prosperity, and that wickedness is not always 
punished in this world. If misery and suffer- 
ing are the inevitable fruits of sin, “how hap- 
pens it,” Job argues, “that men whom we know 
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Job 


to be hypocrites, extortioners, liars and thieves, 
revel in prosperity? And if the evil are appar- 
ently not punished, as it often happens, why 
may not the good sometimes fail in receiving 
their natural reward, and even by some myste- 
rious providence suffer as if they were bad 
men?” 

This reasoning does not satisfy his friends. 
They become angry and unjust in proportion as 
Job gets the better of them in the argument, 
which is no rare thing. Even Eliphaz so far 
forgets himself as to taunt the afflicted man 
with sins which he knows he has not commit- 
ted. He cruelly insults him and adds lies to his 
insults. He accuses Job of stripping the naked, 
of withholding water from the thirsty, and 
bread from the hungry, and of sending widows 
away without an alms. 

Job does not lose temper in view of these 
unjust charges. He has already reached so 
great a height of moral elevation that falsehood 
now does not annoy him. He may be indig- 
nant, but he is calm in the consciousness of 
virtue. He expects no earthly comfort; he is 
submissive to his miseries; he only longs to 
appear before God, that he may argue his case 
with Him. The protestation of his innocence, 
instead of convincing his friends, rather con- 

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firms them in their opinion. Baldad closes the 
argument by again stating the general truth of 
human depravity. ‘‘How can man be justified 
with God? How can a man be clean who is 
born of a woman? If the moon and the stars 
are not pure in His sight, how much less man 
that is a worm ?” It is obvious that he cannot 
answer Job’s reasoning. 

Job here breaks out in sublime exaltation of 
the awful Majesty of God, before whom the 
shades of the dead tremble. “Who shall be 
able to behold the thunder of His greatness?” 
He then affirms, by the living God who hath 
sent afflictions upon him, that as long as he has 
breath he will maintain his innocence, and that 
he will not justify his accusers by speaking 
badly of them. He now paints the terrible 
doom of the wicked. He shows that a wicked 
man does not place his trust in God, for how 
can he love and hate God at the same time? 
He thus proves the falseness of his friends’ 
reasonings. He exalts wisdom which is the 
fear of the Lord, to be valued more than all the 
treasures of the world, for it is the beginning of 
wisdom. 

Job then draws a painful contrast between 
his present condition, afflicted with intolerable 
pains and sufferings, reproached by his friends, 

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Job 


and held in derision by those whose fathers he 
would have disdained to set with the dogs of 
his flocks, — and what he was once, — when even 
princes refrained from talking in his presence, 
and nobles held their peace ; when his judgment 
was a diadem and his charity a blessing; when 
he was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame, a 
father to the poor, and a judge to the wicked; 
and when he dwelt as a king in his household 
and comforted the sorrowful. Now, alas!'’ 
he exclaims, “I am a brother to jackals and a 
companion to the ostrich brood. My harp is 
turned to mourning, and my pipe into sounds of 
weeping." There was no vanity in enumerat- 
ing the virtues of his prosperous days, which 
was partly in answer to the unjust reproaches 
of his friends, and partly in order by contrast, to 
show his profound grief. He not only asserts his 
virtue in those things which were known to 
everybody, but he invokes curses on his own 
head if his statements are not true. 

“If," said he, “I have walked in vanity and 
my foot hath made haste to deceit ; if my step 
hath turned out of the way; then let me sow, let 
another reap. If my heart hath been enticed 
toward a woman and I have lain in wait at 
another's door, then let my wife be given to 
another. If I have withheld the poor from their 

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desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to 
weep, or have eaten my morsel myself alone ; if 
I have seen any perish for the want of clothing; 
if I have lifted my hand against the fatherless, 
— then let my arm fall from my shoulderblade, 
and my arm be broken from the bone. If I have 
made gold my hope ; if I have rejoiced because 
my wealth was great ; if I have rejoiced in the 
destruction of him that hated me; if I have 
covered my transgressions as Adam did, by 
hiding my iniquity in my bosom ; if I have eaten 
the fruits of the land without money, and made 
its tenants sigh out their breath, — then let this- 
tles grow instead of wheat, and thorns instead 
of barley.” The three friends of Job made no 
further reply ; not because they admitted defeat, 
but because they were indignant that Job con- 
tinued to justify himself. Further controversy 
was useless; all had been said that could be 
said. 

A new personage now makes his appearance 
in the person of Eliu, who makes four speeches 
rich with majestic exposition of the power and 
the glory, the justice and the goodness of God, 
and the impotence of man which Job does not 
notice. Then Jehovah Himself answered Job 
out of the whirlwind, in language of incompar- 
able grandeur. He is represented as describing 
(8o) 


Job 


in His books of creation, His own absolute 
power and inconceivable majesty. He does 
not reason nor argue, but simply proclaims 
Himself. He convinces Job of his own ignor- 
ance and imbecility. How awful and sublime 
are the words which direct the attention of men 
to the wonders of creation ! When, in our con- 
templative moods, we survey the stars extend- 
ing through infinite space, each one the centre 
of a system of worlds, then we realize in a 
way, the greatness of the Creator, and fall 
prostrate in adoration and wonder before the 
vastness of the universe and its impenetrable 
mysteries. We are overwhelmed with awe, 
and say : “What is man that Thou takest ac- 
count of him ?” 

Much more overwhelmed was Job when he 
heard the awful words from the mouth of 
Jehovah Himself: “Where was thou when I 
laid the foundations of the earth, when the 
morning stars praised me together, and all the 
sons of God made a joyful melody? Canst 
thou bind together the shining stars, the Plei- 
ades, or loose the bands of Orion, or change the 
order of the heavens? Who provideth the 
young lions and ravens with food ? Hast thou 
entered into the springs of the sea? Hast thou 
perceived the breadth of the earth ? Hast thou 

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entered into the treasures of the snow? Who 
hath begotten the drops of dew out of whose 
womb came the ice? Canst thou send light- 
ning and number the clouds? Doth the hawk 
fly by thy wisdom? Doth the eagle mount at 
thy command?” 

Job now, overcome with the terrible rebukes 
of Jehovah, in reference, not to his sinfulness, 
but to his impotence and ignorance, humbled 
himself before Him and said: “What shall I 
answer Thee? I will lay my hand upon my 
mouth.” Silence is the only thing for him. 
He is utterly confounded in the presence of the 
grandest truth that it is possible to consider, 
the majesty of God and the littleness of man. 

Again the voice of God comes from the whirl- 
wind and continues the terrible questionings, 
as if He would further humble His servant, but 
Job cannot answer them ; he remains silent. 
The mighty mysteries of the universe still re- 
main unsolved, and never can be penetrated by 
the intellect of man. In the depths of his 
humility and broken pride. Job exclaims : “Who 
is this that hideth counsel without knowledge ? 
I uttered what I understood not; I will ask 
Thee and do Thou tell me. I have heard of 
Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye 
seeth Thee; I am conscious of the very pres- 
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Job 


ence of God. Thus have I repented myself 
and do penance in dust and ashes.” 

God now justifies the sufferer, calling him 
'‘My servant Job,” and reproves his suspicious 
friends who have falsely accused him; but at 
the intercession of Job they were forgiven. As 
for Job himself, he was restored to the divine 
favor and given twice as much as he had before. 
His latter days were more blessed than his 
early ones. His brothers and sisters and 
friends rallied around and made him costly 
presents. Seven sons and two daughters were 
born to him, and no women were so fair as his 
daughters. After his great trial he lived 140 
years, and saw descendants to the fourth gene- 
ration. He was a patriarch who was honored 
like Abraham. 

The scene of this inspired poem is evidently 
laid in remote antiquity. It has always been 
classed among the sacred writings, as a work of* 
transcendent genius, and valued as even sur- 
passing the psalms in sublimity and power. It 
is suggestive of two great truths, the majesty 
of God and the littleness of man. These are 
enshrined in a language of incomparable sub- 
limity. In no other book of the Bible is the 
sovereignty of God more clearly expressed, or 

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Bible Studies 

the weakness and wickedness of man more im- 
pressively defined. 

There are many lessons to be learned from 
this inspired poem. In the first place, mystery 
and awe enshroud the ways of the Almighty, 
and no amount of knowledge will enable man 
to fully comprehend His laws. Surely, if we 
cannot interpret the secrets which pertain to 
earth and life, how can we solve the mysteries 
of heaven? The most gifted intellects are baf- 
fled, and their inquiries end in confusion. ‘Tt 
is only he who humbleth himself like a child 
that shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” One 
of the most frequent injunctions of the Bible is 
humility. 

Again, it teaches that deductions from ac- 
cepted truths are misleading and unsatisfac- 
tory. The friends of Job, relying on the great 
truth, that virtue is attended with blessings, 
and sin is followed by suffering, naturally felt 
that Job was a sinner because he suffered, and 
thus were led into error of judgment. For 
instance, we should bear in mind that temper- 
ance is a supreme law ; it is enjoyed on all ; but 
many are the deductions drawn from it by 
partisans and zealots which cannot be fully ac- 
cepted. Thus, when they say, “thou shalt not 
drink wine,” they utter only half a truth; for 
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Job 


Christ Himself gave wine to His disciples, and 
wrought a miracle at the marriage of Cana to 
supply the guests. 

Again we say, ‘Virtue leads to happiness.” 
This is not always true ; since in the case of Job, 
as well as in that of the illustrious martyrs and 
the holy men and women of the centuries who 
suffered for the sake of justice, it was the cause 
of much unhappiness. But there is something 
higher than happiness, — it is duty and right. 
We are required to do right and obey the law 
of God and of the Church, whether happiness 
comes to us or not. 

Obedience involves discomfort, pain, neglect 
and reproach, which are not apt to make us feel 
happy. For instance Mother Church com- 
mands us to fast, to abstain from flesh meat on 
certain days, to confess our sins to a priest, to 
hear Mass on Sundays and holidays, to pray 
daily, to support religion, and to obey the moral 
law. This is our duty, though in performing 
the same, we may have to do violence to our- 
selves. The consciousness of doing our duty is 
a great power. It requires the grace of God. 
It was this that sustained Job under false accu- 
sations ; it sustained the early martyrs in their 
sufferings ; it sustained the patriots in their 
apparently hopeless struggle for liberty. With 

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it, one is strong and nothing is impossible: 
without it, one is weak and helpless. With it, 
one can go through the fires of a burning fur- 
nace ; without it, one fears shadows and dreams. 
With it, a man in poverty and affliction is meek 
and resigned ; without it, a man is envious, com- 
plaining and rebellious. The grandest sight on 
earth is a good man afflicted, yet emerging from 
his trials, humbled, yet exultant. Never, until 
the trial is passed through triumphantly, does a 
man know why he was subjected to it. It is to 
spiritualize his poor weak nature and to lift him 
nearer to God. 

Thus, we see that the good and virtuous man 
while surveying the storms and billows which 
angrily surge around him, threatening to bring 
ruin and misery upon him, looks beyond and 
sees the radiant glories of the Divine promises. 
So, likewise, can he, when bowed down with 
grief and heavy crosses, for which he can see no 
cause, and even in which his professed friends 
may see the visitations of sin, serenely fall back 
on his own consciousness of innocence, and 
triumphantly appeal to his Maker to support 
him in saying that he has striven to obey His 
laws, and to live for His greater honor and 
glory. 


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Job 


“Then, O my saddened, burdened, stricken friend. 
Whatever ills upon thy life attend, 

Whatever fears thine anxious mind oppress, 

Or mysterious deep thy harassed soul distress ; 
When crime, triumphant, glories in its shame. 
And prostrate virtue calls to heaven in vain ; 
When sad bereavement makes thy heart forlorn. 
Or dearest friends are from thy heart withdrawn ; 
When dire privations bring their weary cares. 

And home itself a dreary aspect wears ; 

When piercing pains thy tortured body writhe, 
And in thy dreams wild taunting demons strive ; 
When malice, fierce, with poisoned slander stings. 
And envious hate its blasting curses brings ; 
When scarce a ray illumes the dismal night ; 
When foes pursue thee with relentless might. 
Above these foul, tormenting miseries soar. 

In humble faith the chastening Hand adore ; 
With loyal heart the bitter cup accept. 

And learn that mercy o’er that cup hath wept. 

Yon gloomy clouds the bow of promise binds. 
Beyond the storms, above the raging winds, 

A voice exclaims : ‘Oh ! hear, and blessed be ! 
With everlasting love have I loved thee !’ ” 


(87) 


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SAMUEL 


SAMUEL 


^TER Moses and until David arose, it 



would be difficult to select any man who 


rendered greater service to the Israelites 
than Samuel. He stands out as a man who 
during a long life labored efficiently to give 
political unity and power to the nation and 
reclaim it from idolatry. He was a political 
and moral reformer — an organizer of new 
forces — a man of great executive ability — and 
a judge and prophet. He made no serious mis- 
takes and committed no crimes. 

In view of his sanctity, it is evident that he 
would have adorned the office of high priest; 
but, as he did not belong to the family of Aaron, 
this great dignity could not be conferred upon 
him. His character was reproachless. He 
was, indeed, one of the best men that ever 
lived ; universally revered while living and 
equally mourned when dead. He ruled a na- 
tion in a great crisis, and his influence was 
irresistible because he was favored alike by God 
and man. 

Samuel lived in one of the most tumultuous 


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and unsettled periods of Jewish history, when 
the nation was in a transition state from an- 
archy to law, from political slavery to national 
independence. When he appeared there was no 
settled government; the surrounding nations 
were still unconquered and they had reduced 
the Israelites to humiliating dependence. De- 
liverers had arisen occasionally from the time 
of Joshua, like Gideon, Jephtah, and Samson, 
but their victories were not decisive nor per- 
manent. 

Midianites, Amorites, and Philistines had 
successively oppressed Israel; they even suc- 
ceeded in taking away their weapons of war. 
Resistance to this tyranny was apparently 
hopeless, and the nation would have sunk into 
despair but for occasional providential aid. The 
sacred ark was, for a time, in the hands of the 
enemies, and Silo, the religious capital, the 
abode of the Tabernacle and the ark, had been 
destroyed. Every forge, where a sword or a 
spear could be rudely made, was shut up, and 
the people were forced to go to the forges of 
their oppressors to get even their plough- 
shares sharpened. 

On the death of Joshua (1350 B. C.), who had 
succeeded Moses and led the Israelites into 
Canaan, nearly the whole of the sea coasts and 
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Samuel 


all the strongholds in the rich plain of Esderlon, 
and in the heart of the country the invincible 
fortress of Jebus, — later the site of Jerusalem, — 
were still in the hands of the unbelievers. The 
conquest therefore was yet imperfect, and the 
times were full of peril and fear. In these days 
“every man did that which was right in his own 
eyes.” 

It was a period of utter disorder, anarchy, 
and lawlessness. The persons who ruled were 
the princes or heads of the tribes, the judges 
and the high priests ; and, in that primitive state 
of society, these dignitaries rode on asses and 
lived in tents. The manners of the people were 
rough and their habits warlike. All their great 
men were fighters. Their lives read like ro- 
mances. The saddest thing among all these 
evils was the great decline of religious life. 
The priesthood was disgraced by the prevailing 
vices of the times. Darkness and ignorance 
covered the land. The high priests exercised 
but feeble influence, and even Eli could not or 
did not restrain the glaring immoralities of his 
own sons. In those evil days there were no 
revelations from Jehovah and there was no 
divine vision among the prophets. Never did 
a nation have greater need of a deliverer. 

It was then that Samuel arose. He first ap- 

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pears as a pious boy consecrated to priestly 
duties by a most remarkable mother. His 
childhood was passed in the sacred tent at Silo 
as a server of the aged high priest. He was 
what we would call a very exemplary altar boy. 
He belonged to the great tribe of Ephraim, 
and the name of his saintly mother was Anna. 
She was a Hebrew saint, a model for all gen- 
erations, one who had the gift of prophecy. 
Her song of thanksgiving for the birth of Sam- 
uel, which was an answer to her prayer, is one 
of the most beautiful in the Old Testament. 

From his infancy Samuel was especially ded- 
icated by his pious mother to the services of 
God. He was not a priest, since he did not 
belong to the tribe of Levi ; but the Lord was 
with him and raised him up to be a prophet and 
a judge. When a mere child it was he who 
declared to Eli the ruin of his house, since he 
had not restrained the wickedness of his sons. 
From that time his influence increased until he 
became the foremost man in the nation. 

There is not much recorded of Samuel till 
twenty years after the death of Eli, who lived 
to be ninety. It was during this period that the 
Philistines had carried away the sacred ark 
from Silo, and overrun the country, and op- 
pressed the Hebrews, who, it seems, had fallen 

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Samuel 

into idolatry, worshipping Ashtarothe and 
other strange gods. It was Samuel who 
aroused the nation from its idolatry and deliv- 
ered it from the hands of the Philistines at 
Mespha. 

This victory was followed by the undisputed 
rule of Samuel, who was the last of the leaders, 
called Judges. In him the people learned to 
put their trust ; and he had his seat of govern- 
ment in the various cities he visited. He ac- 
knowledged no superior except God Himself, 
from whom he received his commission. 

His two sons, who in his old age shared 
power with him, did not discharge their dele- 
gated functions more honorably than did the 
sons of Eli, who had been a disgrace to their 
office, their father, and their nation. 

To my mind, dear children and teachers, one 
of the greatest mysteries of human life is the 
seeming inability of pious. God-fearing fathers 
to check the vices of their children, who often 
go astray in spite of parental precept and exam- 
ple, — thus showing that neither virtue nor vice 
can be surely transmitted, and that every 
human being stands on his individual responsi- 
bility, with his own peculiar temptations to 
combat. If left to himself he will surely fall, 
for without God’s grace we can do little. This 

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is why we often see the son of a saint become a 
poor castaway, while the son of a bad man may 
become a saint. This does not often happen; 
in fact, the sons of good men are more likely to 
be an honor to society than the sons of the 
wicked; but why so many exceptions? Be- 
cause, dear children, it requires God’s special 
grace to follow good example, whereas our own 
poor weak nature inclines us to evil. 

The work imposed on Samuel was indeed 
difficult. He had to establish law and order 
among the demoralized tribes of the Jews and to 
prepare them for political independence. A 
still greater task was to effect a moral regen- 
eration and bring back the people to the wor- 
ship of the true God. Both of these objects he 
seems to have accomplished. He rekindled the 
national fire so as to combat successfully on the 
battle field the enemies of the nation. This he 
did by rousing the religious feelings in the 
hearts of the people, for without it there can be 
no true enthusiasm. He accomplished it by his 
eloquence. He went from city to city, as the 
^reat St. Bernard went when he preached the 
crusade against the infidels, or as St. John the 
Baptist when he preached penance in the desert, 
or as our Catholic Missionaries work in our 
day, when they arouse whole communities and 
(96) 


Samuel 

bring about wonderful reformations in faith 
and morals. 

He founded the first religious school for the 
training of young men who were destined for 
missionary work among the Jews. It was 
called the “School of the Prophets/’ and it 
resembled in many respects our Seminaries, 
where our young men destined for the priest- 
hood are educated. He animated his pupils 
with his own holy spirit. He was loved and 
feared as no prophet had been loved or feared 
since the time of Moses. Samuel communi- 
cated his own burning spirit wherever he went. 
The burden of his eloquence was zeal and 
loyalty to Jehovah. His disciples became very 
numerous. They lived in Communities, in 
many respects like our religious orders. They 
were under rule, and were ascetics in their 
habits of dress, food, and spiritual exercises 
Thus Samuel infused courage into the despair- 
ing hearts of his countrymen, and laid the 
foundation of a religious and military enthu- 
siasm which led to the splendid victories of 
Saul and David. 

The great outward event in the life of Samuel 
was the transition of the Israelites from a theo- 
cratic to a monarchial form of government. It 
was a political revolution, and, like all revolu- 

(97) 


Bible Studies 

tions, was fraught with both good and evil. It 
resulted in great progress in material arts, cul- 
ture, and power, but also in a decline of those 
simplicities that foster the religious life on 
which the strength of man is built. When the 
people, therefore, asked for a government 
which would make them like other nations, and 
demanded a king, Samuel was greatly dis- 
turbed. He sought wisdom in prayer, ‘^And 
the Lord said: Harken unto the voice of the 
people in all they say unto thee, for they have 
not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, 
that I should reign over them. Now, there- 
fore, harken unto their voice; yet protest sol- 
emnly unto them and show them the manner of 
the king that shall reign over them.’’ 

The Almighty God would not take away the 
free will of the people, but Samuel is required 
to show them the perversity of their will and 
that if they should choose evil, the conse- 
quences would be on their heads and on the 
heads of their children from generation to gen- 
eration. Samuel therefore spoke to them and 
said : *'This will be the manner of the king that 
shall reign over you ; he will take your sons and 
put them in charge of his chariots, and will 
make them his horsemen and his footmen to 
run before his chariots. Your daughters, also, 

(98) 


Samuel 


he will take to make ointment and to be his 
cooks and bakers. And he will take your fields 
and your vineyards and your best olive yards 
and give them to his servants. Moreover, he 
will take the tenth of your corn and of the 
revenues of your vineyard to give to his officers 
and servants. And he will take your men ser- 
vants and your maid servants and your young 
men and your asses and put them to work. 
And he will take the tenth of your sheep ; and 
ye shall be his servants and you will cry out on 
that day because of your king whom you have 
chosen and the Lord will not hear you on that 
day.” 

Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the 
voice of Samuel, and they said : ‘'Nay, but there 
will be a king over us that we may also be like 
all the nations, and that our king may judge us 
and go out before us and fight our battles.” 

The monarchy which the people sought was 
almost absolute, though limited by the will of 
God as interpreted by the priests and prophets. 
The future king was to be supreme in affairs of 
state, in all worldly matters ; but he could not 
interfere with the functions of the priesthood 
under any pretence whatever ; nor could he go 
contrary to the Divine Command without in- 
curring a fearful penalty. Thus was his power 

(99) 


Bible Studies 


limited, for Jehovah had not withdrawn his 
special jurisdiction over the chosen people for 
whom he was preparing a splendid destiny, for 
from this people was to come the Redeemer of 
the world. 

God granted their request, which from one 
point of view was excusable. They wanted 
protection from their enemies, for they were 
surrounded by hostile nations. They did not 
repudiate the fundamental doctrine of their 
religion ; they only wanted a change of govern- 
ment, a more efficient administration. 

Samuel, by the direction of God, selected a 
sovereign from the tribe of Benjamin, the 
smallest of all the tribes, but the most war-like. 
Cis, the Benjamite, had sent out his son Saul in 
quest of three asses which had strayed away 
from the farm. This obscure youth had a com- 
manding presence, was very beautiful, and was 
head and shoulders taller than any other man 
of his tribe — a man likely to succeed in war. 
Samuel no sooner saw the commanding figure 
and intelligent countenance of Saul than he was 
assured that he was the man whom the Lord 
hath chosen to be the future king of Israel. 
He at once treated him with distinguished 
honor, and he was made to sit at Samuel’s own 
table, to the amazement of the thirty nobles 

(lOO) 


Samuel 


who were also invited to the banquet. The 
prophet took the young man aside, anointed 
him with the sacred oil, kissed him and com- 
municated to him the will of God. 

Later all the tribes of Israel assembled, so 
that the choice might be publicly announced, 
but Saul could not be found. With rare mod- 
esty and humility he had hidden himself. 
When at length they brought him from his hid- 
ing place Samuel said unto the people, “See ye 
him that the Lord hath chosen, that there is 
none like him among all the people.” Such was 
the authority of Samuel that the people shout- 
ed, saying, “God save the King,” this being the 
first recorded utterance of a cry which has been 
echoed the world over by many a loyal people. 
Samuel was now an old man, and was glad to 
lay down his heavy burden and put it on the 
shoulders of Saul. He assembled the nation, 
and in that ever memorable speech, he appealed 
to the people in attestation of his incorruptible 
integrity as a judge and ruler: “Behold here I 
am. Speak of me before the Lord and before 
his anointed whether I have taken any man’s 
ox or ass, if I have wronged any man, if I have 
oppressed any man, if I have taken a bribe at 
any man’s hand, and I will despise it this day 
and I will restore it to you.” 

(lOl) 


^ i h le Studies 


And they said: “Thou hast not wronged us, 
nor oppressed us, nor taken aught at any man’s 
hand.” 

Then Samuel closed his address with an in- 
junction to both king and people to obey the 
commandments of God: “If you will fear the 
Lord and serve Him with all your heart and 
soul and harken to His voice, then shall you 
and the king be followers of the Lord your God. 
But, if you will not harken to the voice of the 
Lord, but shall do wickedly, the hand of the 
Lord shall be upon you and your fathers.” 

For some time Saul gave no offense, but was 
a valiant captain, smiting the Philistines, who 
were th^ most powerful enemies that the Israel- 
ites had yet encountered. But in an evil day he 
forgot his true vocation and took upon himself 
the function of a priest. For this he was re- 
buked by Samuel : “Thou hast done foolishly,” 
he said to the king, “for which thy kingdom 
shall not continue. The Lord hath sought a 
man after his own heart and the Lord com- 
manded him to be prince over his people be- 
cause thou hast not observed that which the 
Lord commanded thee.” Here we have a good 
example of the blending of theocratic and king- 
ly rule. 

However, Saul prospered in his wars. He 
(102) 


Samuel 


fought successfully the Moabites, the Ammon- 
ites, the Edomites, the Amalekites, and the 
Philistines. He did much to establish the king- 
dom, but he was rather a great captain than a 
great man. He did not fully appreciate his 
mission, which was to fight for the Lord, but 
meddled with affairs which belonged to the 
priests. Nor was he always true to his mission 
as a warrior. He spared Agag, king of the 
Amalekites, which again called forth the dis- 
pleasure and denunciation of Samuel, who re- 
garded the conduct of the king as direct rebel- 
lion against God, since he was commanded to 
spare none of that people, they having shown 
an uncompromising hostility to the Israelites in 
their days of weakness, when first they entered 
the land of Canaan. 

This and similar commands that were laid upon 
the Israelites at various times to destroy their 
enemies, have been justified on the ground of 
the bestial grossness and corruption of these 
pagan idolaters and the vileness of their relig- 
ious rites and social customs, which was always 
a temptation to many of the Israelites and re- 
peatedly brought to naught the efforts of Jeho- 
vah's prophets to bring up their people in the 
fear of the Lord. They were a sensual race 
and easily fell into idolatry ; hence the necessity 
(103) 


^ i b I e Studies 

of exterminating some of the nests of iniquity 
in Canaan. 

Saul, perceiving that he had sinned, confessed 
his transgression, but excused himself by say- 
ing that he feared the people. But this policy 
of expediency had no weight with the prophet. 
Although Saul repented and sought pardon, 
Samuel continued his stern rebuke and uttered 
his fearful message, saying: “Jehovah hath rent 
the kingdom of Israel from thee this day and 
hath given it to a neighbor who is better than 
thou.’’ 

Furthermore, Samuel demanded that Agag 
should be brought before him; and he took 
upon himself with his aged hand the work of 
execution and hewed the king of the Amale- 
kites in pieces in Gilgal. He finally departed 
from Saul, and mournfully went to his own 
house in Ramak and Saul saw him no more. 
As the king was the “Lord’s anointed,” Samuel 
could not openly rebel against kingly author- 
ity, but he would henceforth have nothing to 
do with the headstrong ruler. He withdrew 
from him all spiritual guidance and left him to 
his follies and madness. 

Meanwhile, Samuel, in obedience to his in- 
structions from God, proceeded to Bethlehem, 
to the humble abode of Jesse of the tribe of 
(104) 


Samuel 


Juda, one of whose sons he was required to 
anoint as the future king of Israel. He was 
about to select the largest and the finest look- 
ing of the seven sons, but God looked on the 
heart rather than the outward appearance, and 
David, a mere youth, the youngest of the fam- 
ily, was the one chosen and anointed by the 
prophet. 

Saul did not know on whom the choice had 
fallen as his successor, but from the day on 
which he was warned of the penalty of his 
disobedience, divine favor departed from him 
and he became jealous, fretful, and cruel. He 
presented a striking contrast to the character 
he had shown in his early days, being no longer 
modest and humble, but proud and tyrannical. 
Prosperity and power had turned his head and 
developed all that was evil in him. Nero was 
not more unreasonable and bloodthirsty than 
was Saul in his latter days. Prosperity devel- 
oped in Solomon a love of magnificence, in 
Nabuchodonosor a towering vanity, but in 
Saul, a malignant envy. 

The last person in his kingdom of whom he 
had reason to be jealous was the ruddy and 
beardless youth, whom he had sent for to drive 
away his melancholy by his songs and music. 
Nor was it till David killed Goliah and then 
(105) 


Bible Studies 


became the idol of the nation that Saul became 
jealous. Before this he had no cause of envy, 
for kings do not envy musicians, but reward 
them. David was made armor bearer to the 
king, an office bestowed on those who are 
trusted and beloved. Little did the moody and 
jealous king imagine that the youth whom he 
had brought from obscurity to amuse him by 
his music, wit, and humor would so soon be- 
come the champion of Israel and ultimately his 
successor to the throne. 

In the latter part of the reign of Saul the 
enemies with whom he had to contend were 
the Philistines. (The word Palestine is de- 
rived from the word Philistines.) They were 
strong in their military organization, fierce in 
their warlike spirit, and rich by their position 
and commercial instincts. Their cities were 
the centers of every form of activity. In the 
time of the judges they had become so prosper- 
ous and powerful that they held the Israelites 
in partial subjection. 

Under Samuel, the tide of success was turned 
in Israel’s favor at the battle of Mezpah, when 
the Israelites erected the pillar of Ebenezer as 
a token of victory. The battle of Mickmash, 
won by Saul and Jonathan, was so decisive that 
for twenty-five years the Israelites were un- 
(io6) 


Samuel 


molested. In the latter part of the reign of 
Saul the Philistines attempted to regain their 
ascendency, but on the death of Goliah at the 
hand of David, they were driven to their own 
territories. The battle of Gilboa, where Saul 
and Jonathan were slain, again turned the 
scale in favor of the Philistines. Under David 
the Israelites resumed the aggressive, took 
Gath, and broke forever the ascendency of their 
powerful foes. 

Samuel lived to a good old age, and never lost 
his influence over the Israelites, whom he had 
rescued from idolatry, and to whom he had 
given political unity. Although Saul was king 
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 
He died universally lamented. There is no 
record in the Holy Scripture of a death attend- 
ed with such profound and general sorrow. 
All Israel mourned for him. They mourned 
because he was a good man, unstained by crime 
or folly; they mourned because their judge and 
oracle and friend had passed away; they 
mourned because he had been their intercessor 
with God and the interpreter of the divine will. 
His like would never appear again in Israel. 
He was not a priest, but a prophet, the first of 
a long line of those chosen servants of God. 
He was the founder of a religious community 
(107) 


Bible Studies 


for the education of youth. From these insti- 
tutions were developed the great monastic and 
educational institutions of the Catholic Church. 

Among the Hebrews, the prophet took the 
highest rank in the kingdom of God on earth. 
He was the interpreter of the divine will, he 
taught the highest truths, he was the counsel- 
lor of kings and princes, he was an oracle 
among his people. He restored the worship of 
the true God when the nation was sunk in idol- 
atry, he was the mouthpiece of the Eternal God 
for warning, for rebuke, for encouragement, 
for chastisement. He was divinely inspired, 
armed with supernatural powers, a man whom 
the people feared and obeyed, sometimes hon- 
ored, and sometimes stoned; one who bore 
heavy responsibilities and of whom were de- 
manded disagreeable duties. 

We associate with the idea of a prophet both 
wisdom and virtue, great gifts and great per- 
sonal piety. We think of him as a man who 
lived a secluded life of meditation and prayer, 
in constant communion with God, and removed 
from all earthly rewards; a man indifferent to 
ordinary pleasures, to outward pomp and show, 
free from personal vanity, lofty in his bearing, 
independent in his mode of life, spiritual in his 
aims, fervent and earnest in his exhortations, 
(io8) 


Samuel 


living above the world in the higher regions of 
faith and love, disdaining praises and honors, 
and at the same time maintaining a proud 
equality with the greatest personages; a man 
not to be bought or sold, and not to be deterred 
from his purpose by threatenings or intimida- 
tion or flatteries, commanding reverence and 
exalted as a favorite of heaven. 

Most of the august characters of the Old 
Testament were prophets — ^Abraham, Moses, 
Joseph, Elias, Daniel, Isaias, Jeremias, Ezekiel. 
They either foretold the future or rebuked 
kings as messengers of God or taught the peo- 
ple great truths or uttered inspired melodies, or 
interpreted dreams, or in some way revealed 
the ways and will of God. They were the 
national poets and historians of Judea, preach- 
ers of patriotism as well as of religion and 
morals, and exercised political as well as spirit- 
ual power. Many were gifted with the power 
of revealing the future, especially the coming 
of the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Sam- 
uel was not called to declare this profound 
truth. His special work was to found a school 
of religious teachers, to revive the worship of 
Jehovah, to guide princes, and to direct the 
general affairs of the nation as commanded by 
God. 

(109) 


Bible Studies 


He was the first and most favored of the 
great prophets, and exercised an influence, as 
a prophet, never equalled by any who succeed- 
ed him. He was a great prophet, since for 
forty years he ruled Israel by direct divine 
illumination, a holy man who communed with 
God, great in speech, and great in action. He 
was a model for all rulers, even for the judges 
and legislators of the twentieth century. 

When abdicating his power, he stood before 
the people and asked for judgment if he had 
taken a bribe or wronged a man. He is a grand 
example to set before our boys, the future men 
of our country. He was gifted beyond any 
man of his age in spiritual insight and he was 
trusted implicitly by the people for his wisdom, 
honesty, and sanctity. These are the charac- 
teristics which made him one of the most extra- 
ordinary men in Jewish history, for he rendered 
his nation services that cannot be overesti- 
mated. 


(no) 


/ 


DAVID 


i 


» 


U.* ' 

' k I uV k t I 




•t 



3 


DAVID 


D avid, the warrior king who conquered 
the enemies of Israel in a dark and 
desponding period ; a great states- 
man who gave unity to its various tribes and 
formed them into a powerful monarchy; the 
matchless poet, who bequeathed to all ages a 
lofty and beautiful psalmody; the saint who, 
with all his shortcomings and inconsistencies, 
was a man after God’s own heart, is the subject 
of this study. 

David was the most illustrious of all the 
kings of Israel, and the most striking type of a 
holy man occasionally enslaved by sin, but 
rising from his weakness through the grace of 
God to a higher plane of goodness, — a man so 
elevated with almost every virtue that makes 
a man beloved, yet with defects which will for- 
ever hold him up as a warning to future 
generations, — is most difficult to portray. 
There is no character in history, sacred or pro- 
fane, that presents such wide contradictions. 
There are no recorded experiences more 
(113) 


Bible Studies 


interesting and instructive. His was a life of 
heroism and of obedience, of triumph and 
humiliation, of outward conflicts and of inward 
struggles. No one ever loved and hated with 
more intensity than David. He was tender, 
yet fierce ; brave, yet weak ; magnanimous, yet 
unrelenting; exultant, yet sad, committing 
shameful sins yet triumphantly rising by God’s 
grace and performing penances so heroic that 
his very backslidings appear but as spots on 
the sun. His varied experiences call out our 
sympathy and admiration more than the life of 
any secular hero whom poetry and history 
have immortalized. He is a Theodosius, an 
Alfred the Great, and a St. Louis, combined: 
equally great in war and in peace, in action and 
in meditation ; creating an empire, yet trans- 
mitting to posterity a collection of poems 
forever identified with the spiritual life of the 
human race. David was the youngest son of 
Jesse, a prominent man of the tribe of Juda, 
whose grandmother was Ruth, the interesting 
and beautiful wife of Boaz of Moab. He was 
born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem, a town 
rendered sacred by the birth of our Blessed 
Savior, who was Himself of the house of 
David. He first appears in history at the 
sacrificial feast which was periodically cele- 
(114) 


David 


brated by the townspeople, and presided over 
by his father, when the prophet Samuel un- 
expectedly appeared to select from the sons of 
Jesse a successor to Saul. He was not tall and 
commanding in presence, but was ruddy in 
countenance, with auburn hair, beautiful eyes 
and graceful figure, equally distinguished for 
his strength and agility. He had charge of his 
fathers’ sheep, a position considered not the 
most honorable in the eyes of his brothers and 
companions, but as a shepherd boy he had 
already proven his strength and courage by an 
encounter with a bear and a lion. 

David was identified with the fading glories 
of the reign of Saul till he was thirty years of 
age. I need not dwell on the exploits of his 
early career which have all the fascination of 
the adventures of a knight of chivalry. We 
are all familiar with his encounter with Goliath 
and with his slaughter of the Philistines after 
he had slain the giant, which called out the ad- 
miration of the haughty daughter of the king, 
the love of the heir apparent to the throne, and 
the applause of the whole nation. We also 
know how his musical melodies drove the 
demon of melancholy from the royal palace; 
how he was expelled by the jealous king, his 
hairbreadth escapes, his trials and difficulties 

(115) 


Bible Studies 


as a wanderer and exile retreating to solitudes 
and caves, parched with heat and thirst, ex- 
hausted with hunger and fatigue, surrounded 
with increasing dangers, yet all the while 
forgiving and magnanimous, sparing the life of 
his deadly enemy, untainted by a single vice or 
weakness, and soothing his stricken soul with 
bursts of sacred song unequalled for pathos 
and loftiness in the whole realm of lyric poetry. 
He is never so interesting as amid the caverns 
and blasted desolations and serrated rocks and 
dried up rivulets, when his life is in constant 
danger. But he knows that he is the anointed 
of the Lord, and has faith that in due time he 
will be called to the throne. 

It was not till the bloody battle with the 
Philistines which terminated the lives of both 
Saul and Jonathan, that David’s great reign 
began: first at Hebron about the year 1051 
B. C., where he reigned seven and a half years 
over the tribe of Juda, but not without the 
deepest lamentations for the disaster which 
had caused his own elevation. To the grief of 
David for the death of Saul and Jonathan, we 
owe one of the finest odes in Hebrew poetry. 
At this crisis in national afifairs David had 
sought shelter with Achis, king of Goath, in 
whose territory he, with the famous band of 
(116) 


David 


six hundred warriors, whom he had collected 
in his wanderings, dwelt in safety and peace. 
This apparent alliance with the deadly enemy 
of the Israelites had displeased the people. 
Notwithstanding all his victories and exploits, 
his anointment at the hands of Samuel, his 
noble lyrics, his marriage with the daughter of 
Saul, and the death of both Saul and Jonathan, 
there had been at first no popular movement in 
David’s behalf. The taking of decisive action 
was one of his peculiarities from youth to old 
age, and he promptly decided, after consulting 
the Lord, to go at once to Hebron, the ancient 
sacred city of the tribe of Juda, and there await 
the course of events. His faithful band of six 
hundred devoted men formed the nucleus of an 
army, and a reaction in his favor having set in, 
he was chosen king only of the tribe to which 
he belonged. Northern and central Palestine 
were in the hands of the Philistines ; ten of the 
tribes still adhering to the house of Saul, under 
the leadership of Abner, the cousin of Saul, 
who proclaimed Isboseth king. The prince was 
little more than a puppet in the hands of Ab- 
ner, the most famous general of the day. For 
five years civil war raged between the rivals 
for the ascendency, but success gradually 
secured for David the promised throne of 

(117) 


Bible Studies 


united Israel. Abner seeing how hopeless was 
the contest, and wishing to prevent further 
slaughter, made overtures to David and the 
elders of Juda and Benjamin. The generous 
monarch received him graciously and promised 
his friendship, but out of revenge or jealousy, 
Joab, the captain of the king’s chosen band, 
treacherously murdered him. David’s grief 
was profound and sincere, but he could not 
afford to punish the general on whom he 
chiefly relied. ^‘Do you not know,” said David 
to his intimate friends, ^^that a prince and a 
great man is slain this day in Israel? But I 
am too weak to avenge him for I am not yet 
acknowledged by the tribes.” He secretly 
disliked Joab from this time and waited for 
God Himself to repay the evil-doer according 
to his wickedness. The fate of the unhappy 
and abandoned Isboseth could not be long 
delayed. He also was murdered by two of his 
body-guard who hoped to be rewarded by 
David ; but instead of receiving a reward, they 
were summarily ordered to execution. The 
sole surviving member of Saul’s family was 
aow Miphiboseth, the only son of Jonathan, a 
boy of twelve, impotent and lame. This prince, 
to the honor of David, was protected and 
kindly cared for, in memory of the covenant of 

(ii8) 


David 

friendship that he made in youth with Jona- 
than, his father. 

David, at this time was thirty-eight years of 
age, in the prime of his manhood and his 
dearest wish was now accomplished, for on the 
burial day of Isboseth, came all the tribes of 
David unto Hebron, formally tendering him 
their allegiance. He was solemnly consecrated 
king, more than eight thousand priests joining 
in the ceremony, and without a stain upon his 
character, he began to reign over united Israel. 
The kingdom he was called to rule was the 
most powerful in Palestine. Greece was but 
in its infancy, while Assyria, Egypt, China and 
Judea were in the zenith of their power. 

The first act of David on assuming charge 
was to transfer his capitol from Hebron to 
Jerusalem. It was nearer the centre of his 
new kingdom than Hebron, and yet within the 
limits of the tribe of Juda. He took it by as- 
sault in which Joab so greatly distinguished 
himself that he was made Captain-General of 
the king's forces. From that time ‘^David 
went on growing great, and the Lord God of 
hosts was with him." After fortifying this 
strong position, he built a palace worthy of his 
capitol with the aid of Phoenician workmen, 
whom Hiram, the king of Tyre, furnished him. 
(1 19) 


Bible Studies 

The Philistines looked with jealousy on this 
impregnable stronghold and declared war ; but 
after two invasions they were so badly beaten 
that Gath, the old capitol of Achias, passed into 
the hands of Israel and the power of these 
formidable enemies was broken forever. 

The next important event in the reign of 
David was the transfer of the sacred ark from 
Cariathiarim, where it had remained from the 
time of Samuel, to Jerusalem. It was a proud 
day when the royal hero enthroned in his new 
palace on that rocky summit from which he 
could survey both Judea and Samaria, received 
the symbol of divine holiness, amid all the 
demonstrations which popular enthusiasm 
could express, and as the long and imposing 
procession, headed by nobles, priests and gen- 
erals, passed through the gates of the city with 
shouts of praise and songs and sacred dances 
and sacrificial rites and symbolic ceremonies 
and bands of exciting music, the exultant soul 
of David burst out in the most rapturous of his 
songs. '‘Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and 
be ye lifted up, O eternal gates, and the king of 
glory shall enter in,” thus reiterating the great 
truth which Moses taught, that the king of 
glory is the Lord Jehovah to be forever wor- 

(I20) 


David 

shiped as God and as the real captain of the 
hosts of Israel. 

One heart alone amid the festivities which 
attended this joyful and magnificent occasion 
seemed to be unmoved. Whether she failed to 
enter into the spirit, or was disgusted with the 
mystic dances in which her husband shared, 
the stately daughter of Saul assailed David on 
return to his palace, with bitter and disdainful 
words which forever after rankled in his soul 
and undermined his love. Thus was the most 
glorious day which David ever saw, clouded by 
a domestic quarrel which ruined the happiness 
of his home. One word of bitter scorn or 
harsh reproach, will sometimes sunder the 
closest ties of friendship and cause wounds 
which never can be healed, and which too often 
lead to eternal ruin. How carefully we should 
guard against sins of the tongue. Under this 
head may be enumerated all the sins against 
the eighth commandment. Complete restitu- 
tion must be made if we expect forgiveness for 
violating this sacred law. Honors or rewards 
are poor substitutes for the loss of true friend- 
ship. 

David had now passed from the obscurity of 
a chief of a wandering and exiled band of 
followers, to the dignity of an oriental monarch 

(I2l) 


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and turned his attention to the organization of 
his kingdom and the developments of its re- 
sources. His army was raised to two hundred 
and eighty thousand regular soldiers. His 
true friends and faithful supporters were made 
generals, governors, and ministers. Joab was 
made commander-in-chief, and Benaiah, son of 
the high priest, was captain of the body-guard, 
composed chiefly of foreigners, after the cus- 
tom of the nations. His most trusted advisers 
were the prophets of God, and Nathan, 
Zadock, and Abiather were the high priests 
who also superintended the music to which 
David gave special attention. Grand choruses 
celebrated his victories : David surrounded 
himself with pomp and guards. None were 
admitted to his presence without announce- 
ment, while he himself was seated on a throne 
with a golden sceptre in his hand and a 
jewelled crown upon his head, clothed in robes 
of purple and gold. He made alliances with 
powerful chieftains and kings and imitated 
their customs in many respects. He reigned 
in justice and equity and in obedience to the 
commands of Jehovah whose servant he ac- 
knowledged himself to be. Nor did he violate 
the moral law unless in following practices 
that were apparently tolerated. The Israelites 
( 122 ) 


David 


at this period were a remarkably virtuous 
people with great love of domestic life. 

David retained his war-like habits and in 
great national crises he led his own troops in 
battle. After a long period of peace during 
which the nation prospered, war broke out 
with Moab and other neighboring nations, 
which required all the resources of the Jewish 
kingdom, and taxed to the utmost, the energies 
of its bravest generals. Moabites on the east. 
Ammonites on the north, and Edomites on the 
south simultaneously attacked the Israelites. 
King David led in person and achieved a series 
of splendid victories by which he extended his 
Empire to the Euphrates including Damascus. 
He also secured most valuable spoils from the 
cities of Syria ; among them chariots and 
horses, shields overlaid with gold, and great 
quantities of metals which were afterwards 
used by Solomon in the construction of the 
great temple. 

It was at the close of this memorable cam- 
paign, that David, oppressed with cares and 
weakened with the fatigue of war forgot his 
duties as a king and as a man. For fifty years 
he had borne an unsullied name; for upwards 
of thirty years he had been a model of re- 
proachless chivalry. During all these years 
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we know of no crime nor folly that can be laid 
to his charge, if we except polygamy and 
ferocity in war. There is no divine censure 
recorded. But in an evil hour of temptation 
he fell into a horrible double sin that buried his 
glories in shame, and left a stain on his other- 
wise fair name. Nor did he come to himself 
till the prophet Nathan had ingeniously 
pointed out to him his flagrant crime. Then 
his wounded conscience cried out and he sank 
to the ground in the greatest anguish and 
grief. His sin was great, but his repentance 
was perfect. Perhaps in all history there is 
not a more memorable instance of contrition. 
It surpasses a thousand times over, the grief 
of Theodosius under the terrible rebuke of 
St. Ambrose, or the sorrow of the haughty 
Plantagenet for the foul murder of St. Thos. 
a Becket. It was so profound, so sincere, so 
remarkable, that it was embalmed forever in 
the heart of a sinful world. Its wondrous 
depth and intensity make us forget the crime 
itself which followed him during the rest of his 
days and was visited unto the third and fourth 
generation. ''Be sure your sin will find you 
out,” is a natural law as well as a divine decree. 
Not only did he sin against society and the 
moral law, but especially against his Maker. 

(124) 


David 


The royal penitent felt that he had sinned 
more against God than against Uriah himself, 
for he cries out in the anguish of his soul: 
“Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned and 
done this evil in Thy sight.” Who has ever 
read the penitential psalms of David and has 
not discovered the depths of the grief and 
agony of his soul ? They are his most precious 
utterances and are cherished by every one who 
striveth to lead a spiritual life, for no man, no 
matter how pure, honest and honorable he may 
have considered himself, can peruse these 
psalms in which David describes his self- 
abasement, without discovering how fallen, 
defiled and sinful he is before God. 

Should we seek the cause of David’s fall, 
may we not find it in too much self-confidence? 
For success in worldly affairs, self-confidence 
is necessary, but in spiritual matters, we are 
poor and miserable and unable to do anything 
meritorious without the grace of God. Had he 
cried out for help in the moment of temptation, 
he might have been spared the shame and 
misery of his fall. May we not also find that 
in not observing the law of marriage as 
divinely instituted in the Garden of Eden, 
David weakened the moral sense and un- 
chained the passions. Polygamy under any 
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circumstances is a misfortune and a curse to 
the nation as well as the individual. It divided 
and distracted the household of David and 
gave rise to incessant intrigues and conspira- 
cies in the palace, which embittered , his latter 
days and even undermined his throne. 

The numbering of the nation without divine 
sanction, constituted another offense against 
Jehovah, that was followed by a dire calamity 
in which 70,000 perished in four days. Perhaps 
the taking of the census indicated on the part 
of David, a desire to extend his Empire against 
Divine will. Whatever was the nature of the 
sin, it brought upon the nation a fearful pun- 
ishment and added to the sorrows of David. 
“O God,” he cried out in a burst of generous 
penance, “I have sinned, but these sheep, what 
have they done? Let Thine hand be upon me 
I pray Thee and upon my father’s house.” 

David was subject to great trials and mis- 
fortunes. The wickedness of his children, 
especially the eldest son Ammon, must have 
nearly broken his heart. As to Absolom, his 
pride, insolence, extravagance and folly must 
have been exceedingly painful and humiliating 
to the aged and pious king. Still harder to 
bear was his reckless attempt to steal his 
father’s sceptre. What a pathetic sight to see 
(126) 


David 


the old warrior driven from his capitol and 
forced to flee beyond the Jordan. How humil- 
iating to witness also the alienation of his 
subjects and their willingness to accept a 
brainless youth who had nothing to commend 
him but his good looks, as their king and 
leader: — all the glorious victories and mag- 
nificent services rendered the nation, were 
forgotten. Is not this history repeating itself? 
David’s sorrows and burdens reveal simply 
what most rulers have to suffer. Outward 
grandeur and power are but a poor compensa- 
tion for the incessant cares, vexations and 
humiliations which even the most devoted 
rulers are obliged to accept. In fact this will 
hold good for all in authority, both in church 
and state, and without the consoling doctrine 
of a future reward, for services well performed, 
there would be little incentive to make the 
necessary sacrifices. 

Nor was this all David had to suffer. For 
years his kingdom was afflicted with famine 
which decimated the people, with wars against 
ancient enemies and with rebellions and in- 
trigues and foul treacheries, all of which seem 
to be a fulfillment of the punishment foretold 
by Nathan, the prophet. God’s providence is 
unerring and men prepare for themselves 
(1*7) 


Bible Studies 

retribution which in spite of sincere repent- 
ance, is the inevitable consequence of their, 
own violation of the law, — physical, moral or 
spiritual. It is simply the doctrine of the 
church, — the temporal punishment due to sin 
after the sin itself has been forgiven. God 
forgave David and gave him a new heart, but 
the evil seed sown bore evil fruit for him and 
his children. So will it be to the end of time. 

We know little of David’s later years. After 
the death of Absolom, it would seem that he 
reigned about ten years during which time he 
collected material and treasure for the building 
of the temple which he was not to build. We 
are led to believe that the wealth of the king- 
dom was enormous, for David on abdicating 
the throne turned over to Solomon, his 
successor, for the building of the temple, an 
amount of treasure that seems almost in- 
credible for that age. If reduced to our money 
it would represent a sum of about $200,000,000 
which is more than the cost of St. Peter’s 
Church at Rome. 

The final years of this great monarch 
present an impressive lesson to the vanity even 
of a successful life. Few kings ever accom- 
plished more than David, but his glory was 
succeeded by shame and sorrow. This eclipse 
(128) 


David 


is all the more mournful when we remember 
not only his services but his exalted virtues. 
He was one of the most successful and the 
most admired of monarchs that reigned at 
Jerusalem. He was one of the greatest and 
best men who ever lived in any nation at any 
period. He had an inborn aptitude for gov- 
ernment and a power like Julius Caesar, of 
fascinating every one who came in contact 
with him. His devotion to the interests of 
the nation never relaxed. There is no record 
that he ever took time for recreation or pleas- 
ure. All stood in fear of him and all admired 
him,. Never had a monarch more devoted 
followers than had David in his balmy days: 
he was the nation’s idol and pride for thirty 
years. In every vicissitude he was great, and 
were it not for his shortcomings, his reign 
would have been faultless. Contrast David 
with the other conquerors of the world: com- 
pare him with ancient and modern heroes and 
you will see how far they fall beneath him in 
works of magnanimity and self-sacrifice. 
What monarch has transmitted to posterity 
such inestimable treasures of thought and 
language? One of the most beautiful and most 
consoling pictures in all history is David : 
exalted in riches and honors, or bowed down to 
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^ i b I e Studies 

the earth with grief and sorrow, in adversity 
and prosperity, in strength or weakness, — he 
turned his face to God as the source of all hope 
and consolation. “As the hart panteth after 
the fountain of water, so my soul panteth after 
Thee, O God.” He has no doubts. His piety 
has the seal of sincerity upon it: it is the con- 
stant presence of God which is his strength, 
his shield, his fortress, his deliverer, his true 
friend : the one with whom he communed both 
day and night; on the battlefield and in the 
guarded palace. In his greatest humiliation, 
he never despairs. His piety is most tender 
and joyful. In his sublime inspired songs, he 
calls even upon inanimate nature to praise 
God, — the sun, the moon, the stars, the moun- 
tains and the valleys, fire and water, snow and 
rain, storms and wind. “Bless ye the Lord, O 
my Soul, for His mercy endureth forever.” 
He was a man after God’s own heart. He had 
his defects, but he also had grand qualities of 
heart and soul. How affectionately he clung 
to Jonathan. How generously he spared Saul ; 
what self-denial, when faint with thirst, in 
refusing water; how patiently he bore the 
rebukes of Nathan. His impulses were all 
generous. He had no selfish ends. He forgot 
his own sorrows in the sufferings of the people. 

(130) 


David 


He had no pride in all the pomp of power 
though he never forgot that he was the Lord’s 
anointed. 

David rendered great personal services to 
the nation. He laid the foundation of its pros- 
perity. He made the glories of Solomon 
possible. But more than any national great- 
ness are the imperishable inspired lyrics he has 
bequeathed to all ages and nations, in which he 
unfolded the varied experiences of a good man 
in his warfare with the world, the flesh and the 
devil, — these priceless utterances which por- 
tray every passion which can move the human 
soul. He has left for the contemplation of all 
time, all that a noble soul can suffer or enjoy, 
all that can be learned from folly and sin, all 
that can stimulate religious life, all that can 
console in sorrow and affliction. These ex- 
periences and aspirations he has embodied in 
an inspired poetry, the most exquisite in the 
Hebrew language, creating a new world of 
religious thought and feeling, and furnishing 
the foundation for our Christian Psalmody, to 
be sung and chanted in our churches from age 
to age throughout the world. His kingdom 
passed away, but his psalms will remain for- 
ever. As Moses lives in his jurisprudence, 
Solomon in his proverbs, Isaias in his prophe- 
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Bible Studies 

cies, and Paul in his epistles, so David lives in 
these inspired poems which will ever be part 
of the sublime liturgy of the Catholic Church. 

The literary excellence of the psalms cannot 
be measured by any human standard. It is 
not to be found in any form of metrical com- 
position. It is the mighty soaring of an 
inspired soul which makes the psalms so dear 
to us, and not their artificial structure. They 
were made to reveal the ways of God and the 
life of the human soul. They are unlike our 
great secular lyrics which were made to im- 
mortalize heroes and exalt human love. We 
may not be able to fully appreciate the ten- 
derness, the pathos, the sublimity and the 
intensity of the sentiments expressed. ‘Tn 
pathetic dirge, in songs of Jubilee, in outbursts 
of praise, in prophetic announcements, in the 
agonies of contrition, in bursts of adoration, in 
the beatitudes of holy bliss, in the enchanting 
calmness of Christian life,” no one has ever 
surpassed David. There is nothing pathetic 
in national difficulties, nor endearing in family 
relations, nor profound in inward experience, 
nor triumphant over the fall of wickedness, nor 
beatific in divine worship, which he does not 
intensify. He raises mortals to the skies and 
brings a Savior down. His songs are a per- 
(132) 


David 


petual rebuke to every form of infidel and 
agnostic speculation. “The fool hath said in 
his heart, there is no God.” The Psalter is the 
most impressive part of our catholic ritual. 
How soul-inspiring are our Holy Week ser- 
vices ! How powerful and lasting is the efifect 
of the psalms and the lamentations ! How 
beautiful are our Vesper services, classified and 
arranged for the various seasons of the year! 
The psalmody and the chant of the Catholic 
Church, when properly rendered, stimulate the 
loftiest sentiments of which men are capable. 
They have become the treasured property of 
mankind and are enshrined in the heart of the 
world. We may lose sight, at times, of the 
inspired songs of Moses or of Solomon or of 
Isaias, but the songs of the son of Jesse will 
ever wield a powerful influence over the afifec- 
tions of mankind. 

“Such is the tribute which all nations bring, 

O warrior, prophet, bard and sainted king. 

From distant ages fo thy hallowed name. 

Transcending far all Greek and Roman fame ! 

No pagan gods thy sacred songs invoke. 

No loves degrading, do thy strains provoke. 

Thy soul to heaven in holy rapture mounts. 

And joys seraphic in its bliss recounts. 

O thou sweet singer of a favored race. 

What vast results to thy pure songs we trace ! 

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^ i h I e Studies 


How varied and how rich are all thy lays, 

On nature’s glories and Jehovah’s ways ! 

In loftiest flight thy kindling soul surveys 
The promised glories of better days, 

When peace and love this fallen world shall bind, 
And richest blessings all the race shall find.” 


(134') 


SOLOMON 



SOLOMON 


W ITH Solomon we associate the cul- 
mination of the Jewish monarchy 
and a reign of unexampled prosperity 
and glory. He not only surpassed all his pred- 
ecessors and successors in those things which 
strike the imagination as brilliant and imposing, 
but his extraordinary intellectual gifts have 
placed him in history as the wisest of ancient 
kings and the most favored of mortals. Amid 
the evils which saddened the latter days of his 
father, David, this remarkable man grew up. 
His interests were protected by his mother, Beth- 
sabee, an intriguing, ambitious woman, and his 
education was directed by the prophet Nathan. 
He was a youth of less than twenty years of age 
when he was placed upon the throne with the 
sanction of his father. He became king in a 
great national crisis, when unfilial rebellion had 
undermined the throne of David, and Adonias, 
next in age to Absalom, had sought to steal the 
royal sceptre, supported by the great general, 
Joab, and Abiathar, the elder high priest. 

Solomon^s first acts as monarch were to re- 
move the great enemies of his father, not sparing 

(137) 


Bible Studies 


even the most successful general that ever 
brought lustre to Jewish arms. With Abiathar, 
who died in exile, expired the last glory of the 
house of Eli; and with Semei, who was slain 
with Adonias, passed away the last representa- 
tive of the royal family of Saul. Soon after, 
Solomon repaired to the heights of Gabaon, where, 
as a royal holocaust, he offered a sacrifice of one 
thousand victims on the great brazen altar where 
stood of old the Tabernacle. It was on the 
night of that sacrifice, that in a dream the Lord 
appeared to the youthful king and offered to 
Solomon whatsoever his heart should crave. He 
prayed for wisdom — which was granted — the 
first evidence of which was his celebrated judg- 
ment between the two women who claimed the 
living child, which made a powerful impression 
on the whole nation, and doubtless strengthened 
his throne. The kingdom which Solomon in- 
herited was probably at that time the most pow- 
erful in Western Asia. It was bounded by Leb- 
anon on the north, the Euphrates on the east, 
Egypt and the Mediterranean on the west. If 
small in extent, it was exceedingly fertile, and 
sustained a large population. Its hills were crest- 
ed with fortresses and covered with cedars and 
oaks. The land was favorable to both tillage 
and pasture, abounding in grapes, figs, olives, 
(138) 


Solomon 


dates and every species of grain; the numerous 
springs and streams favored a perfect system of 
irrigation, so that the country presented a picture 
in striking contrast to its present blasted and 
dreary desolation. The nation was also enriched 
by commerce as well as agriculture. Caravans 
brought from Eastern cities the most valuable of 
their manufactures. From Spain they brought 
gold and silver; Egypt sent chariots and linen; 
Syria sold her purple cloths and robes of varied 
colors; Arabia furnished horses and costly trap- 
pings. All the luxuries and riches which Tyre 
and Sidon had collected in warehouses found 
their way to Jerusalem. The nations and tribes 
subject to Solomon paid a fixed tribute, while 
their kings and princes sent rich presents. Never 
was such prosperity seen in Israel before or since. 
The royal stables contained forty thousand horses 
and fourteen hundred chariots. The royal palace 
glistened with plates of gold, and the parks and 
gardens were watered from immense reservoirs. 
When the youthful monarch repaired to these 
gardens in his gorgeous chariot, he was attended, 
says Stanley, ‘‘by nobles whose robes of purple 
floated in the wind, and whose long black hair, 
powdered with gold dust, glistened in the sun, 
while he himself, clothed in white, blazing with 
jewels, scented with perfumes, wearing both 
(139) 


Bible Studies 

crown and sceptre, presented a scene of gladness 
and glory. When he traveled he was borne on 
a litter of precious woods inlaid with gold and 
hung with purple curtains, preceded by mounted 
guards, and princes for his companions, and the 
women for his idolaters, so that all Israel re- 
joiced in him.’^ 

We infer that Solomon reigned for several 
years in justice and equity, without striking faults 
— a wise and benevolent prince who feared God 
and sought from Him wisdom, which was be- 
stowed in such a remarkable degree that princes 
came from remote countries to see him, including 
the famous Queen of Sheba, who was both dazzled 
and enchanted. Yet, while he was, on the whole, 
loyal to the God of his fathers, and was the pride 
and admiration of his subjects, especially for his 
wisdom and knowledge, Solomon was not ex- 
empted from grave mistakes. He was scarcely 
seated on his throne before he married an Egyp- 
tian princess, doubtless with the view of strength- 
ening his political power. But, while this alli- 
ance brought wealth and influence, it violated one 
of the fundamental principles of the Jewish peo- 
ple. The daughter of Pharaoh was an idolater, 
and her influence tended to wean the king from 
his religious duties ; at least it made him tolerant 
of false religions, which was contrary to the 
(140) 


Solomon 


whole history of the nation. This chosen people 
was not intended by the divine founder to be 
politically or commercially great, but rather to 
preserve the worship of the true God among the 
nations of the earth. 

The practice of polygamy, which, though tol- 
erated, “owing to the hardness of their hearts,” 
was a grave mistake. Its enervating influence 
gradually undermined his character and prepared 
the way, no doubt, for the apostasy of his later 
years. The great expense incurred in these 
Oriental luxuries must have been a scandal and 
a burden to the nation. Such a form of govern- 
ment is nothing less than a grinding despotism — 
fatal to the liberties which the Israelites had en- 
joyed under Saul and David. The predictions 
and warnings of Samuel were realized for the 
first time during the reign of Solomon. The 
people soon found that wealth, national prospr- 
ity and luxury were but a poor exchange for that 
ancient religious ardor and intense patriotism 
which had led the Hebrew nation to be victorious 
over surrounding idolatrous nations. The heroic 
age of Jewish history passed away when the 
people forgot their God in their pursuit of wealth 
and commercial expansion. 

Solomon’s peaceful and prosperous reign of 
forty years was, however, favorable to one grand 

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enterprise which David had longed to accomplish, 
but to whom it was denied. This was the build- 
ing of the temple. We can scarcely form an 
adequate idea of its magnificence from the de- 
scription of the Sacred Book. In that age it had 
no parallel in splendor and beauty. It taxed the 
mighty resources of Solomon for forty years. 
It required the constant labors of ten thousand 
men in the mountains of Lebanon alone to cut 
down and hew the timber, and this for a period of 
eleven years. Of common laborers there were 
several thousand; and of those who worked in 
the quarries and polished and squared the stones, 
there were eighty thousand more, besides the 
overseers. It took three years to prepare the 
foundations. As Mount Moriah, on which the 
temple was built, did not furnish level space 
enough, a wall of solid masonry was erected on 
the eastern and southeastern sides, nearly three 
hundred feet in height, the stones of which in 
some instances were more than twenty feet long 
and six feet thick, so perfectly squared that no 
mortar was required. The buried foundations 
for the courts of the temple and the vast treasure 
houses still remain to attest the strength and 
solidity of the work, seemingly as indestructible 
as are the pyramids of Egypt, and only paralleled 
by uncovered ruins of the palaces of the Caesars 
(142) 


Solomon 


on the Palatine Hill at Rome, which fill travelers 
with astonishment. Vast cisterns also had to be 
hewn in the rocks, to supply water for the sacri- 
fices, capable of holding ten million of gallons. 
The temple proper was small compared with 
many of our noble Catholic cathedrals, but the 
courts which surrounded it were vast, enclosing 
an area larger than that on which St. Peter’s 
church at Rome is built. It was, however, the 
richness of the decorations and of the sacred ves- 
sels and the altars for sacrifice and the rich vest- 
ments, which made the temple so grand and ex- 
pensive. The treasures collected by David and 
Solomon for this purpose were enormous. We 
can scarcely estimate the amount. However, 
when we remember that plates of gold overlaid 
the entire building, and the Cherubim and the 
other symbolical figures; that the interior of the 
building was finished in precious woods elabo- 
rately carved, rich tapestry, and curtains of crim- 
son and purple ; the altars were of polished brass, 
the lamps and sacred vessels were of solid gold, 
set with rare gems, all these together must have 
required a vast expenditure. It was the pride 
and glory of that age and impressed the senses and 
imagination of the millions of people that gath- 
ered within its courts and porticos at its dedi- 
cation. 

(143) 


Bible Studies 

As the great event in David’s reign was the 
removal of the ark to Jerusalem, so the culminat- 
ing glory of Solomon was the dedication of the 
Temple he had built to the worship of Jehovah. 
The ceremonies equalled in brilliancy the glories 
of a Roman triumph, and infinitely surpassed 
them in popular enthusiasm. The whole popula- 
tion of the kingdom, some four or five millions, 
came to Jerusalem to witness or to take part in it. 
“And as the long array of dignitaries, with the 
thousands of musicians clothed in white, and the 
Monarch himself, arrayed in pontifical robes, and 
the royal household in embroidered mantles, and 
the guards with their gold shields, and the priests 
bearing the sacred tabernacle with the ark and 
the cherubim, and the altar of sacrifice, and the 
golden candlesticks, and the table of bread, and 
brazen serpent, and the venerated tables of stone, 
on which were engraven by the hand of God him- 
self the ten commandments” — as this splendid 
procession swept along the road, strewn with 
flowers and fragrant with incense, how must the 
hearts of the people have been lifted up. Then the 
royal pontiff arose from his throne and, amid 
clouds of incense and the smoke of burning sacri- 
fice, offered unto God the tribute of national 
praise, and implored His divine protection. And 
then, rising from his knees, with hands out- 

(144) 


Solomon 


stretched to heaven, he blessed the great assem- 
blage of people, saying : “Let the Lord our God 
be with us as he was with our Fathers, so that all 
the people of the earth may know that the Lord 
is God and there is no other beside Him.” 

Then followed the sacrifice for this grand oc- 
casion. Twenty thousand oxen, twelve thousand 
sheep and goats were offered up on successive 
days. The festival of the dedication lasted a 
week, and this was succeeded by the feast of the 
Tabernacles ; and from that time the Temple be- 
came the pride and glory of the nation. To see 
it periodically and to worship in its courts be- 
came the intensest desire of every Hebrew. 
Three times a year great festivals were held, at 
which a vast concourse of people attended. This 
was by divine command. 

Immediately after the dedication of the Temple 
other gigantic works were undertaken. It took 
thirteen years to complete the royal palace. The 
principal building was only one hundred and fifty 
feet long, seventy-five broad and forty feet high, 
in three stories, with a grand veranda, supported 
by lofty pillars. Connected with the palace were 
other magnificent edifices. Around the tower of 
the house of David were hung the famous golden 
shields which had been made for the king’s body- 
guard. In the great judgment hall, built of cedar 

(145) 


Bible Studies 

and polished granite, was the throne of the mon- 
arch, made of ivory inlaid with gold. Connected 
with these various palaces were extensive gar- 
dens constructed at great expense, filled with all 
the triumphs of horticultural art and watered by 
streams from vast reservoirs. But these did not 
content the royal family — a summer palace was 
erected on the heights of Mount Lebanon, having 
gardens filled with everything which could de- 
light the eye and captivate the senses. Here, sur- 
rounded, with learned men, beautiful women and 
courtiers, with bands of music, horses and char- 
iots and every luxury, the magnificent monarch 
beguiled his leisure hours between pleasure and 
study, for his inquiring mind sought to master all 
knowledge. We can form some idea of his 
household in the fact that it daily consumed sixty 
measures of flour and meal, thirty oxen, one hun- 
dred and ten sheep, besides venison, game and 
fatted fowls. The king never appeared in public 
except with crown and sceptre, in royal robes, 
redolent of the richest perfumes of India and 
Arabia, and sparkling with gold and gems. He 
lived in a constant blaze of splendor, whether trav- 
elling on his gorgeous litter, surrounded with his 
guards, or seated on his throne to dispense justice 
and equity, or feasting with his nobles to the sound 
of joyous music. To keep up his regal splendor, to 
(146) 


Solomon 


build magnificent palaces, to dig canals and con- 
struct gigantic reservoirs for parks and gardens, to 
maintain a large standing army in time of peace, 
to erect strong fortresses, to found cities in the 
wilderness, to level mountains and fill up valleys — 
to accomplish all this, even the resources of Solo- 
mon were insufficient. The king was obliged to 
make forced contributions — to lay a heavy tribute 
on his own subjects from Dan to Beersheba — and 
to make bondmen of all his colonies. The people 
were virtually enslaved. Burdens were laid on 
all classes, and the excessive taxation at last alien- 
ated the nation, and the rebellion of Jeroboam 
was a logical sequence. No king ever so belied 
the promises of his early days; and in none did 
prosperity produce so fatal an apostasy as in Solo- 
mon. With all his wisdom and early piety he be- 
came an egotist, a sensualist and a tyrant. How 
different was his ordinary life from that of his 
illustrious father, with apparently no repentance, 
no remorse, no self-abasement. He passed away 
without honor or regret, at the age of sixty, and 
was buried in the City of David. 

The Scriptures are silent as to whether Solo- 
mon repented or not before his death. The more 
charitable view to take, and the one which many 
of the Fathers and Theologians of the Church 
have taken, is that he came to himself before he 

(147) 


Bible Studies 

died, and that God gave him the grace of repent- 
ance. We cannot but feel that so gifted a man, 
endowed with every intellectual gift, who reigned 
for a time with so much wisdom, who recognized 
Jehovah as the guide and Lord of Israel — as es- 
pecially appears in the building and dedication of 
the Temple — ^and who wrote such profound les- 
sons of moral wisdom, would not be suffered to 
descend into the grave without divine forgive- 
ness. All that we know is that he was wise and 
favored beyond all precedent, but that he adopted 
evil habits and fell into the vices of the pagan 
nations and lost the friendship of God and the 
affection of the people. He was exalted to the 
highest pinnacle of glory and he descended to an 
abyss of shame — a sad example of the weakness 
of poor human nature when left to its own 
strength, for “of ourselves we are nothing, but 
with God we can do all things.’’ 

Solomon left to his nation the grand Temple, 
which remained the pride of every Jew, and many 
monuments which wasted the national resources 
and introduced a civilization which weakened the 
national character. All this led to the rapid 
decline of the religious life, patriotic ardor and 
primitive virtues of the Jews, and ultimately to 
their captivity. 

Nevertheless, in many important respects Solo- 
(148) 


Solomon 


mon rendered great service to humanity, which 
redeemed his memory from shame and made him 
a great benefactor. He left writings which are 
among the most treasured inheritances of his na- 
tion and of mankind. It is recorded that he 
spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs 
were one thousand and five. Only a small por- 
tion of these have descended to us in the sacred 
writings. Enough remains, however, to estab- 
lish his fame as one of the wisest and most gifted 
of mortals. These writings are pervaded with 
moral wisdom, and are accepted as among the 
most precious gems of the Old Testament. His 
profound experience conveyed to us in proverbs 
and songs, will remain our guide till the end of 
time. The dignity of intellect shines through his 
shortcomings. It is truth rather than man that 
lives and conquers and triumphs. 

Of the writings attributed to Solom.on, there 
are three works, each of which corresponds to a 
different period of his life — to his pious, virtu- 
ous youth, to his prosperous manhood, and to his 
later years of weakness and despair. They all 
blaze alike with moral truth, and appeal to uni- 
versal experience. They present different as- 
pects of human life at different periods, and sug- 
gest sentiments which most people have realized 
at one time or another. In some cases they are 

(149) 


Bible Studies 


apparently contradictory, like the Books of Pro- 
verbs and Ecclesiastes, but the change of senti- 
ment is the change between youth and old age. 
They simply present life under different aspects, 
and yet they are alike true. 

The Canticle of Canticles of Solomon has been 
a stumbling block to all non-Catholics. Private 
judgment has given it various interpretations, all 
unsatisfactory. The Catholic Church symbolizes 
the love expressed in this song as the pure eternal 
love which exists between Christ and His church. 
It is a contrast between the impure love of the 
pagan world and the pure love of Jesus Christ 
for his spouse. It also symbolizes the love of the 
Heavenly Father for the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
who was destined from all eternity to become the 
Virgin Mother of the spotless Son of God, the 
second person of the Blessed Trinity. It is ap- 
plied by the Church to those favored souls who 
have consecrated their lives to Christ in religion ; 
it bursts forth in holy thoughts of joy like that of 
St. Teresa, in the anticipated union with her 
divine spouse. It is a most noble tribute to what 
is most enchanting in heavenly love. It speaks 
not of the love of the unsanctified soul — nor is it 
the expression of physical love like the amatory 
songs of Greece and Rome. This celestial love 
is expressed in language the most exquisite and 
(150) 


Solomon 


most elegant. “Arise, my fair one, and come 
away for the Winter is passed and gone and the 
flowers appear upon the earth, and the voice of 
the turtle is heard in the land. Make haste my 
beloved: Be thou like a roe on the mountains 
of spices, for many waters cannot quench love, 
nor the floods drown it ; yea were a man to offer 
all that he had for it, it would be utterly despised.’^ 
How tender, how innocent, how beautiful is this 
description of heavenly love, which should be the 
ideal of all lofty love, which nothing can corrupt 
and nothing can destroy, for it is a type of the 
eternal love existing between Christ and His 
church. 

If the Canticle of Canticles — Solomon’s most 
beautiful song — was the work of his early days 
of innocence and piety, the Book of Proverbs 
seems to be the result of his profound observa- 
tions while he was still uncorrupted by prosper- 
ity. They are written on almost every subject 
pertaining to ethics, to nature, to science, and to 
society. Some are allusions to God and others 
to the duties between man and man, many are 
devoted to the duties of women and are suitable 
to the sex for all time to come. They may not be 
on a level with the psalms in piety, nor with the 
prophecies in grandeur, but they all are founded 
in the immutable principles of moral truth. They 

(151) 


Bible Studies 

contain terrible warnings and exhortations. The 
sins of anger, injustice, impurity, drunkenness, 
idleness, covetousness, falsehood, gluttony, de- 
traction, pride, oppression, are uniformly de- 
nounced as leading to destruction, while pru- 
dence, temperance, fortitude, chastity, honesty, 
truthfulness, obedience and in fact r>U virtues are 
enjoined on all believers in God. The ethics of 
the Proverbs are based on everlasting truth and 
are imbued with the spirit of divine philosophy; 
they constantly exhort to wisdom and virtue, 
which should go hand in hand — the one becoming 
the foundation of the other. They form a fitting 
study for youth and old age — an incentive to 
virtue and a terror to evil-doers. They are a 
thesaurus of moral wisdom surpassing the wis- 
dom of all a^es. They speak in every line a lofty 
inspired intellect acquainted with every phase of 
life. Such moral wisdom would be imperishable 
in any literature. They evidence an unclouded 
mind trained in equity even when the will is en- 
slaved by sin. The Proverbs never blend error 
with truth; they uniformly exalt wisdom and 
declare that the beginning of wisdom is the fear 
of the Lord. They show that the author was the 
lover of truth, and was like many great minds 
with weak wills, who give in their works testi- 
mony to the great truths of Christianity, and ut- 
(152) 


Solomon 


terly abhor those who poison the soul and intel- 
lect by plausible sophistries. 

In striking contrast with the praises of knowl- 
edge which permeate the Proverbs is the book of 
Ecclesiastes. It is supposed to have been written 
in the decline of Solomon’s life. Contrasted with 
the Book of Proverbs it is sad and discouraging, 
although there is great loftiness of thought in its 
sayings. It contains the profound and searching 
exposition of the vanities of this world as they 
appeared to an inspired searcher after truth, 
measured by the realities of a future and endless 
life of bliss, which the soul, emancipated from sin, 
pants after with the intensity of a renovated na- 
ture. The book closes with an earnest exhorta- 
tion to remember God before our poor bodies re- 
turn to the earth whence they came. These 
words from a man who had tasted all earthly 
pleasures should be carefully pondered. 

Methinks I can see that unhappy old man, 
worn out, saddened, embittered, yet at last rising 
above the decrepitude of old age and speaking in 
tones that can never be forgotten: '‘Behold ye 
young men: I have tasted every enjoyment of 
this earth; I have indulged in every pleasure; I 
have explored the world of thought and the world 
of nature ; I have been favored beyond any mor- 
tal that has ever lived ; I have been flattered and 

(153) 


Bible Studies 


honored beyond all precedent; I have consumed 
the treasures of kings and princes ; I builded my 
houses, I planted my vineyards ; I made me gar- 
dens and orchards; I made me pools of water; 
I got me servants and maidens; I gathered me 
also silver and gold; I got me men singers and 
women singers, and musical instruments ; whatso- 
ever my eyes desired I kept not from them; I 
withheld not my heart from any joy — and now 
behold, I solemnly declare unto you with my fad- 
ing strength and my eyes suffused with tears and 
my knees trembling with weakness, and in view 
of that future and higher life which I neglected 
to seek amid the dazzling glories of my throne 
and the bewilderment of fascinating joys, I now 
most earnestly declare unto you that all these 
things which men seek and prize, are a vanity, a 
delusion, and a snare; that there is no wisdom 
but in the fear of God.” This saddest of books 
closes with the solemn statement that there is no 
escape from the penalty of sin and folly — that 
whatsoever a man sows that also shall he reap; 
that worldly pleasures and self-seeking cannot 
secure happiness; that there is no lasting good 
without virtue; that even knowledge — the great- 
est possession that man can have, cannot satisfy 
the soul. 

Such is the conclusion drawn by the wisest and 

(154) 


Solomon 


most favored of mortals. If measured by the 
eternal standards, his glory was less than that of 
the little flower which withers in a day. Nothing 
brings a true reward but the practice of virtue — 
unselfish labor for others, supreme loyalty to con- 
science and obedience to God and His church. 
Solomon’s public confession, uttered from the 
depths of his heart, at the end of life, in which he 
declared that all is vanity except to serve God — is 
the great truth of the Old Testament, which should 
be ever kept before us. It is not difficult to compre- 
hend. Whatever is born in vanity must end in van- 
ity. If vanity is the seed, vanity must be the fruit. 
This is one of the most impressive truths that can 
be considered. Whatever we do from vanity will 
be turned into disappointment. If a man seeks 
honors from vanity — or desires promotion from 
vanity — or gives charity from vanity — or writes 
a book from vanity — or ignores his friends from 
vanity — the expected happiness or reward, or 
pleasure will be turned into bitterness of soul. 
Self-love alienates from God and produces dis- 
gust, weariness and sorrow. The soul can be fed 
only on the pure love of God; it can be made 
happy only by walking according to the divine 
commandments. The experience of every-day 
life confirms this statement. The broken friend- 
ships, the dispelled illusions, the fallen idols, the 

( 155 ) 


Bible Studies 


poison concealed in polished flatteries, the deceit- 
fulness hidden beneath the warmest praises, the 
demons of envy and jealousy, all these shortcom- 
ings in so-called friends confirm the wisdom 
which Solomon uttered out of his lonely and sad- 
dened heart. 

Who is happy in earthly honors? Who can 
escape anxiety and fear ? There is a fly in every 
ointment. The wrecks of human happiness are 
strewn in every path that the world has envied. 
Read the lives of illustrious men; how melan- 
choly often are the latter days of those who have 
climbed the highest in church and state. What a 
confirmation of the experience of Solomon. 
‘‘Vanities of Vanities” should be written on every 
wall in the palaces of the rich, in the halls of 
pleasure and on the cottages of the poor. This 
is the burden of the preaching of Solomon, but it 
is also a lesson which is taught by all records 
and experience of the past. It is not sad when 
we consider the dignity of the soul and its im- 
mortal destinies. It is sad only when holy fear, 
which is the beginning of wisdom, does not take 
possession of the soul and direct its aspirations to 
the never-fading joys of heaven, our true home. 
It was this thought that sustained the soul of 
Solomon as he was hastening to the country from 
which no traveler, returns. 

(156) 


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ELIAS 


E yiL days fell upon the Israelites after 
the reign of Solomon. Their country 
was rent by political divisions, disorders 
and civil wars. Ten of the tribes revolted 
from Roboam, Solomon’s son and successor, 
and took for their king, Jeroboam, a valiant 
man who had been living in the court of Sesac, 
the king of Egypt, exiled by Solomon for his 
too great ambition. Jeroboam had been an 
industrious, active youth whom Solomon had 
promoted. The prophet Elias had privately 
foretold to him that on account of the idolatries 
tolerated by Solomon, ten of the tribes should 
be taken away from the royal house and given 
to him. The Lord promised him the kingdom 
of Israel. Jeroboam made choice of Sichem 
for his capitol; and from fear that the people 
should, according to their custom, go up to 
Jerusalem to worship at the great festivals of 
the nation, and, perhaps, return to their alle- 
giance to the House of David, he made two 
golden calves and set them up for religious 
(159) 


Bible Studies 

worship : one in Bethel at the southern end of 
the kingdom ; the other in Dan at the far north. 

For priests, Jeroboam selected the lowest of 
the people, as the old priests and Levites 
remained with the tribe of Juda. ' These 
abominations and political rivalries caused 
incessant war between the two kingdoms for 
several reigns. The northern kingdom which 
included the tribe of Ephraim, was the richest, 
most fertile, and most powerful ; but the south- 
ern kingdom was the most strongly fortified. 
In the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, the 
king of Egypt, probably incited by Jeroboam, 
invaded Juda with an immense army, including 
sixty thousand cavalry and twelve thousand 
chariots, and invested Jerusalem. The city 
escaped capture only by submitting to the 
most humiliating conditions. The vast wealth 
which was stored in the Temple, — the famous 
gold shields which David had taken from the 
Syrians, and those also made by Solomon for 
his body-guard, became spoil for the Egypt- 
ians. This disaster happened when Solomon 
had been dead but five years. The solitary 
tribe left to his son, despoiled by Egypt, and 
overrun by other enemies, became of but little 
importance politically for several generations, 
although it still possessed the temple, and was 
(i6o) 


Elias 


proud of its traditions. After this great hu- 
miliation, the proud king of Juda became a 
better man and his descendants, for a hundred 
years, were, on the whole, worthy rulers and 
did good in the sight of the Lord. 

Juda, for a time, passes out of sight, but is 
gradually enriched under the reign of virtuous 
princes who preserved the worship of the true 
God at Jerusalem. Nations, like individuals, 
grow in real strength through adversity. The 
prosperity of Solomon undermined his throne. 
The little kingdom of Juda lasted one hundred 
and fifty years after the ten tribes were carried 
into captivity. Yet what remained of the 
power and wealth among the Jews after the 
rebellion of Jeroboam, was to be found in the 
northern kingdom. Political interest centered 
around it. It was exceedingly fertile and was 
well watered. It was ‘‘a land of brooks and 
water, of fountains, of barley and wheat, of 
vines and fig trees, of olives and honey. It 
boasted of numerous fortified cities and had a 
dense population. The nobles were powerful 
and warlike, while the army was well organ- 
ized and included chariots and horses. The 
monarchy was purely military and was sur- 
rounded by powerful nations whom it was 
necessary to conciliate. Among these were 

(i6i) 


i b I e Studies 


the Phoenicians on the west, and the Syrians 
on the north. The history of this northern 
kingdom which has come down to us, is 
very meagre. From Jeroboam to Achab, a 
period of sixty-six years, there were six kings, 
three of whom were assassinated. There was 
a succession of usurpers who destroyed -all the 
members of the preceding reigning family. 
They were all idolaters, violent and blood- 
thirsty men, whom the army had raised to the 
throne. No one of them was marked with 
signal ability, unless it was Amri who built the 
city of Samaria on a high hill and so strongly 
fortified it that it remained the capitol till the 
fall of the kingdom. He also made a close 
alliance with Tyre, the great centre of com- 
merce in that age, and one of the wealthiest 
cities of antiquity. To cement this political 
alliance Amri married his son Achab to a 
daughter of the Tyrean king, afterwards so 
infamous under the name of Jezabel, one of the 
worst women in all history. Achab built a 
temple to Baal — the Sun-God — the chief 
divinity of the Phoenicians, and erected an 
altar therein for pagan sacrifices, thus making 
idolatry the established religion in its very 
worst form. The great Jehovah was abjured 
as the Supreme God, and the worship of the 
(162) 


Elias 


powers of nature under the auspices of a pagan 
woman, stained with every vice, was estab- 
lished. Achab was completely under the 
influence of his Phoenician bride, and to please 
her, he added to his royal residences, a summer 
retreat called Jezrahel, which was of great 
beauty and contained within its grounds an 
ivory palace of great splendor. Amid its 
gardens and parks and all the luxuries then 
known, the youthful monarch with his queen 
and attendant nobles abandoned themselves to 
sinful pleasures common to oriental monarchs. 

The ascendency of this wicked woman over 
this luxurious monarch has made her infamous. 
She was an incarnation of pride, sensuality and 
cruelty, and with all her other vices, she was a 
religious persecutor who has had no equal in 
all history. We may give to her, as to that 
modern, tiger-like persecutor in the cause of 
religion. Queen Elizabeth, the murderess of 
Mary, Queen of Scots, the credit of conscien- 
tious devotion to cruelty, for she feasted at her 
own table at Jezrahel, four hundred priests of 
Baal, besides 450 others at Samaria, while she 
erected two great sanctuaries for the Phoeni- 
cian deities at which the officiating priests 
were clad in splendid regalia. The few re- 
maining prophets of Jehovah hid themselves in 
(163) 


^ i b I e Studies 


caves and deserts to escape the murderous fury 
of this idolatrous queen. She was distin- 
guished for her beauty and was bewitching in 
her manners. Jezabel, like the English queen, 
is an illustration of the wickedness which is so 
often concealed beneath enchanting smiles, 
especially when armed with power. 

The fearful apostacy of Israel which had 
been increasing for sixty years under wicked 
kings, had now reached a point which called 
for special divine intervention. There were 
only seven thousand men in the whole king- 
dom who had not bowed the knee to Baal, and 
God sent a prophet, — a prophet such as had not 
appeared in Israel since Samuel ; more august, 
more terrible, than he; indeed the most unique 
and imposing character in all Jewish history. 

II. 

Very little is known of the early history of 
Elias. The Bible simply speaks of him as '‘a 
Thesbite,'' one of the inhabitants of Galaad. 
He evidently was a man accustomed to a wild 
♦and solitary life. He was large of stature and 
his features were fierce and stern. His long 
hair flowed upon his brawny shoulders, and he 
was clothed with a mantle of sheepskin and 
carried in his .hand a rugged staff. He was 
(164) 


Elias 


probably unlettered, being rude and rough in 
both manners and speech. His first appear- 
ance was marked and extraordinary. He, 
suddenly and unannounced, stood before 
Achab and abruptly delivered his awful mes- 
sage. He was an apparition calculated to 
strike with terror the boldest of kings. He 
makes no set speech, he offers no apology: he 
disdains all forms and ceremonies; he does not 
even render the customary homage. He utters 
only a few words which are preceded by an 
oath : ^'As the Lord liveth, the God of Israel, in 
whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor 
rain these years, but according to the words of 
my mouth.’’ What arrogance before a king! 
Elias, an utterly unknown man, clad in sheep- 
skin, apparently a peasant, dares to utter a 
curse on the land without even deigning to 
give a reason. In all probability, Elias at- 
tacked the king in the presence of his wife and 
court. To the cynical and haughty queen born 
in idolatry, he, no doubt, seemed a madman of 
the desert, shaggy, unwashed, fierce, repulsive ; 
but to the king, who understood better the 
ways of God, the prophet appeared armed with 
supernatural powers. Elias mysteriously dis- 
appears from the royal presence as suddenly as 
he had entered it and no one knew whither he 
(165) 


Bible Studies 

was fled. He cannot be found. The royal 
emissaries go into every land, but are utterly 
baffled in their search. The whole power of 
the realm was put forth to discover his retreat, 
and had he been found, no mercy would have 
been shown him ; he would have been summa- 
rily executed as one who had insulted the royal 
station. 

Whither did the prophet fly? He fled with 
the swiftness of a Bedouin, to a retired valley 
of one of the streams that emptied into the 
Jordan near Samaria. Amid the clifts of the 
rocks which marked the deep gorge, did the 
man of God hide himself from his furious and 
numerous persecutors. He does not escape to 
his native deserts, where he would have been 
hunted like a wild beast, but remains near the 
capitol in which Achab reigns, in a deeply se- 
cluded spot, where he quenches his thirst from 
the waters of the brook and eats the food 
which the ravens miraculously deposit amid 
the steep clifts he knows how to climb. 

The bravest and most undaunted man in 
Israel shielded and protected by God, was 
probably warned by the divine Voice to make 
his escape since his life was needful to the 
execution of the purposes of divine Providence. 
He was the only one of all the prophets of his 

(i66) 


Elias 


day who dared to give utterance to his con- 
victions. Some four or five hundred there 
were in the kingdom, all believers in Jehovah; 
but all sought to please the reigning power, or 
timidly concealed themselves. They had been 
trained in the schools which Samuel had estab- 
lished and were the teachers of the people. 
Their great defect was timidity. Hence there 
was needed someone who would not hesitate to 
tell the truth even to the king and queen. So 
this rough, fierce, untaught man of few words 
was sent by God, armed with terrible powers. 

It was now the rainy season when rain was 
confidently expected by the people throughout 
Palestine. Yet, strange to say, no rain fell. 
The streams from the mountains soon dried 
up ; the land, parched by the summer sun, be- 
came like dust and ashes; the hills presented a 
blasted and dreary desolation; the very trees 
were withered and discolored. At last even 
the sheltered brook failed from which Elias 
drank, and it became necessary for the man of 
God to seek another retreat. The Lord led 
him to the last place in which his enemies 
would naturally look for him, — to a city of 
Phoenicia where the worship of Baal was the 
only religion of the land. As in his tattered 
and strange apparel he approached Sarepta, a 
(167) 


^ i b I e Studies 


town between Tyre and Sidon, worn out by 
fatigue, parched with thirst, and overcome 
with hunger, — everything around being de- 
pressed and forlorn, the rivers and brooks 
showing only beds of stone, the trees and grass 
withered, the sky lurid, ^nd of unnatural 
brightness, like that of brass, and the sun burn- 
ing and scorching every remnant of vegetation, 
— he beheld a woman issuing from the town to 
gather sticks in order to cook, what she sup- 
posed would be her last meal. To this sad 
and discouraged woman, he, the prophet, thus 
spoke : “Give me a little water in a vessel that 
I may drink and as she turned sympathetically 
to look upon him, he added : “Bring me also, I 
beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.” 
This was no small request to make of a pagan 
woman who was on the borders of starvation 
herself. But there was a mysterious affinity 
between these two suffering souls. An ordi- 
nary woman would not have appreciated the 
greatness of the beggar before her ; only a dis- 
cerning mind and sympathetic woman would 
have seen his lofty bearing, and in the tones of 
his voice, despite his rags and dirt, an unusual 
and marked character. She no doubt belonged 
to a respectable class reduced to poverty by the 
famine, and her .keen intelligence recognized at 

(i68) 


Elias 


once in the hungry and needy stranger, a su- 
perior person. She took the prophet by the 
hand and conducted him to her home and gave 
him the best room in the house and divided 
with him the last remnant of her meal and oil. 

It is probable that a lasting friendship 
sprang up between the pagan woman and the 
strange man of God, such as bound together 
the no less austere St. Jerome and St. Paula. 
For two or three years, Elias dwelt in peace 
and safety in the heathen town protected by 
this admiring woman, for his soul was great, if 
his body was emaciated and his dress repulsive. 
In return for her hospitality, he miraculously 
caused her meal and oil to be daily renewed ; 
and more than this, he restored her only son to 
life, when he had succumbed to a dangerous 
illness. 

Meanwhile the abnormal drought and 
consequent famine continued. The northern 
kingdom was reduced to despair. So dried up 
were the wells and exhausted the cisterns and 
reservoirs that even the king’s household be- 
gan to suffer and it was feared that the horses 
of the royal stables would perish. In this dire 
extremity, the king himself set forth from his 
palace to seek patches of vegetation and pools 
of water in the valleys, while his prime minis- 
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ter, Abdias, was sent in an opposite direction 
for a like purpose. On his way Abdias met 
Elias who had been sent from his retreat once 
more to confront Achab and this time to 
promise rain. As the most diligent search had 
been made in every direction, but in vain, to 
find Elias with a view to his destruction, as the 
man who “troubled Israel,” Abdias did not 
believe that the hunted prophet would volun- 
tarily put himself again in the power of an 
angry and hostile tyrant. Yet the prime min- 
ister, having encountered the prophet, was 
desirous that he should keep his word, to 
appear before the king and promise to remove 
the calamity which was felt to be a divine 
judgment. Elias, having reassured him of his 
sincerity, the minister informed his master that 
the man he sought to destroy, was near at hand 
and demanded an interview. The wrathful 
and puzzled king went out to meet the prophet, 
not to take vengeance, but to secure relief from 
a sore calamity. Without threats or insults 
he addressed him : “Art thou he who troubleth 
Israel?” Elias, loftily, fearlessly, and re- 
proachfully, replied : ^ “I have not troubled 
Israel, but thou and thy father’s house who 
have forsaken the commandments of the Lord 
and have followed Baalim.” He then assumes 
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Elias 


the attitude of a messenger of divine Omnipo- 
tence and orders the king to assemble all his 
people together with the 850 priests of Baal at 
Mount Carmel, a beautiful mountain nearly 
2000 ft. high, near the Mediterranean, covered 
with oaks and flowering shrubs and fragant 
herbs. The king obeyed, being evidently 
awed by the imperious voice of the divine 
ambassador. 

The representatives of the whole nation are 
now assembled at Mt. Carmel, with their idola- 
trous priests. The prophet appears in their 
midst as a man of God armed with irresistible 
power. He addresses the people who are not 
yet hopelessly sunk into the idolatry of their 
rulers : “How long,” cried the prophet with a 
loud voice and fierce aspect, “do you halt be- 
tween two sides? If the Lord be God follow 
Him : but if Baal, then follow him.” The un- 
decided, crestfallen, intimidated people did not 
answer a word. Then Elias enters into an 
argument. He reminds the people that he 
stands alone in opposition to 850 idolatrous 
priests, protected by the king and queen. He 
proposes to test their claims in comparison 
with his as ministers of the true God. This 
seems reasonable and the king makes no 
objection. The test is to be supernatural; 
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even to bring down fire from heaven to con- 
sume the sacrificial bullock on the altar. The 
priests of Baal select their bullock, cut it in 
pieces, put it on the wood and invoke their 
supreme deity to send fire to consume the 
sacrifice. With all their arts and incantations, 
and magical sorceries, the fire does not de- 
scend. They then perform their wild and 
fantastic dances, screaming aloud, from early 
morning even till noon: “O Baal hear us.” 
Achab must have quaked with sentiments of 
curiosity and fear. His anxiety must have 
been terrible. Elias alone was calm, but he 
was also stern. He mocks them with provok- 
ing irony and ridicules their want of success. 
His grim sarcasms become more and more 
bitter. ^‘Cry with a louder voice,” he said, ‘‘for 
ye cry to a God: either he is talking, or he is 
hunting, or he is on a journey ; or perhaps he is 
asleep and must be awakened.” And they 
cried with a louder voice, and cut themselves, 
after their manner, with knives and lancets till 
they were covered with blood. Then Elias, 
when midday was passed and the priests con- 
tinued to call unto their God until the time of 
evening sacrifice, and there was neither voice 
nor answer, assembled the people around him 
as he stood alone by the ruins of an ancient 
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Elias 


altar, and took twelve stones according to the 
number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob to 
whom the word of the Lord came, saying: 
“Israel shall be thy name.” And he built with 
his own hands an altar to the name of the 
Lord ; and he made a trench for water of the 
breadth of two furrows round about the altar. 
And he laid the wood in order and cut the 
bullock in pieces and laid it upon the wood: 
and he then offered up this prayer to the God 
of his fathers : “O Jehovah, God of Abraham, 
God of Isaac, and of Jacob, hear me and let all 
the people know that Thou art the God of 
Israel and that I am Thy servant and that I 
have done all these things at Thy word. 
Hear me, O Lord, hear me; that this people 
may know that Thou art the Lord God, and 
that Thou hast turned their hearts back again.” 
Then immediately the fire of the Lord fell and 
consumed the holocaust and the wood and the 
stones and the dust; and licked up the water 
that was in the trench. 'And when the people 
saw this, they fell on their faces and cried 
aloud: ‘'The Lord is God — the Lord is God.” 

Elias then commanded them to take the 
priests of Baal — all of them, so that not even 
one of them should escape. And they took 
them, by the direction of Elias, down the 
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mountain side to the brook Cison and slew 
them there. His triumph was complete. He 
had asserted the majesty and proved the power 
of Jehovah. The prophet then turned to the 
king, who seems to have been completely 
subjected by this tremendous proof of the 
prophetic Authority, and said : “Go up, eat and 
drink, for there is the sound of abundance of 
rain.” And Achab ascended the hill to eat and 
drink with his nobles at the sacrificial feast; 
and Elias went up to the top of Mt. Carmel, not 
to the feast, and casting himself down on the 
earth, he hid his face between his knees and 
reverently communed with God. He felt the 
approach of the coming storm even when the 
sky was clear and not a cloud was to be seen 
over the blue waters of the Mediterranean. 
So he said to his servant : “Go up now and look 
toward the sea.” And the servant went to still 
higher ground and looked, and reported that 
nothing was to be seen. Six times the order 
was impatiently repeated and obeyed; but at 
the seventh time the youthful servant, — in all 
probability the very boy he had saved by a 
miracle, — reported a cloud in the distant hori- 
zon, no bigger seemingly, than a man’s hand. 
At once Elias sent word to Achab to prepare 
for the coming tempest; and both he and the 

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Elias 


king began to descend the hill, for the clouds 
rapidly gathered on the heavens and a mighty 
wind arose which in the Orient, always 
precedes a furious storm. With incredible 
rapidity, the tempest spread and the king 
hastened for his life to his chariot at the foot of 
the hill to cross the brook before it became a 
torrent; and Elias, remembering that he was 
king, ran before his chariot more rapidly than 
the Arab steeds. As the servant of the Lord, 
he performed his mission with dignity and 
without fear; as a subject, he renders due 
respect to rank and power. 

Achab has witnessed now with his own eyes 
the impotency of the prophets of Baal and the 
marvellous power of the messenger of Jehovah. 
The desire of the nation was to be gratified; 
the rains were falling, the cisterns and reser- 
voirs were filling, and the field once more 
would rejoice in its wonted beauty, and the 
famine would soon be at an end. In view of 
this great deliverance, and awe-stricken by the 
supernatural gifts of the prophet, one would 
suppose that the king would have taken Elias 
into his confidence and loaded him with favors 
and made him his counsellor. But not so. 
He had been subjected to deep humiliation 
before his own people; his religion had been 

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brought into contempt and he was afraid of his 
cruel-hearted wife who had led him into 
idolatry. So he hastened to his palace and 
acquainted Jezabel of the wonderful things he 
had seen and which he could not prevent. 
She was filled with fury and vengeance, and 
taking a dreadful oath, she sent a messenger 
to the prophet with these terrible words: “As 
surely as thou art Elias and I am Jezabel, so 
may God do to me and more also, if I take not 
thy life to-morrow about this hour as the life 
of one of them.” Elias, she resolves, should 
surely die. 

How did the prophet receive her message? 
He feared not to encounter Achab and all the 
priests of Baal, yet he quailed before the wrath 
of this terrible woman, — this incarnate fiend, 
who cared neither for God nor man. Elias 
fled for his life attended only by his boy ser- 
vant and he did not halt till he crossed the 
kingdom of Juda and reached the utmost 
southern bounds of Holy Land. At Bersabee 
of Juda he left his faithful attendant and 
sought refuge in the desert, — the ancient wil- 
derness of Sinai with i,ts rocky wastes. Under 
the shade of a solitary tree, exhausted and 
faint, he lay down to die : “It is enough for me, 
O Lord, now fake my soul, for I am no better 
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than my fathers.” He had outstripped all 
pursuers and was apparently safe, yet he 
wished to die that he might no longer be a wit- 
ness of the sins and misery of his people. He 
was physically exhausted and with this ex- 
haustion came the reaction. He was a strong 
man overcome by unspeakable sorrow. He 
lay down and slept and when he awoke, he was 
fed and comforted by an angel who com- 
manded him to arise and penetrate further into 
the dreary wilderness. This bread with which 
Elias was fed by an angel, is a figure of the 
bread which we receive in the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, by the strength of which we are to be 
supported on our journey through the wilder- 
ness of this world till we come to the true 
mountain of God where we will enjoy the 
beatific vision. 

For forty days and forty nights Elias jour- 
neyed until he reached the awful solitudes of 
Sinai and Horeb, and sought shelter in a cave. 
In this lonely spot he enters upon a new crisis 
of his career. It does not appear that the 
future destinies of Samaria and Jerusalem were 
revealed to him, nor the fate of the surround- 
ing nations as seen by Isaias, Jeremias and 
Daniel. He was not called to foretell the 
retribution which would surely be inflicted on 
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degenerate and idolatrous nations, nor even 
to declare those impressive truths which were 
to instruct all future generations. He does not 
soar in his dreary solitude to those lofty re- 
gions of thought which marked the meditations 
of Moses. He is not a poet: he has no lofty 
eloquence: he commits no precious truths to 
writing for the instruction of distant genera- 
tions. He is a man of intensely earnest 
convictions, gifted with extraordinary powers. 
He was a prophet sent by Almighty God 
to deliver special messages of reproof and 
correction to wicked rulers : he was a great 
reformer. His person was weird and remarka- 
ble and his character august. His words were 
earnest and delivered with terrible force. He 
was just the man to make a strong impression 
on a superstitious and weak king; but he did 
more than that; he aroused a whole nation 
from their foul debasement and left them 
quaking in terror before their offended Deity. 

We now behold him faint and weary, yet 
with the sure instinct of mighty spiritual 
natures, seeking consolation in solitary com- 
panionship with the great Jehovah. We do 
not know how long Elias remained in this 
dismal cavern ; long enough, however, to 
recover his physical energies and his moral 
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Elias 


courage. As he wanders to and fro amid the 
hoary rocks and impenetrable solitudes of 
Horeb, he seeks to commune with God. He 
listens for some manifestation of the Deity ; he 
is ready to do His bidding. He hears the 
sound of a rushing hurricane, but God is not 
in the wind. The mountain then is shaken by 
a fearful earthquake, but Jehovah is not in the 
earthquake. Again, the mountain seems to 
flash with fire, but the signs he seeks are not in 
the fire. At last, after the uproar of contend- 
ing physical forces had died away in the 
profound silence and solitude, he hears the 
whisper of a still, small voice in gentle accents : 
“What dost thou hear Elias?” Was this voice 
reproachful? How does he reply to the mys- 
terious voice? He justifies himself. He feels 
God’s presence ; his courage returns ; the in- 
spiration of a new line of action opens up to 
him. He hears the word of God : “Go and 
return on thy way through the desert of 
Damascus, and when thou art come thither 
thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over 
Syria, and Jehu, the son of Namsi, to be king 
over Israel, and Eliseus the son of Saphat, to 
be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to 
pass that him who escapeth the sword of 
Hazael shall be slain by Jehu, and him that 
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escapeth the sword of Jehu shall be slain by 
Eliseus. Yet I have left me seven thousand 
in Israel who have not bowed the knee unto 
Baal/’ 

The life of Elias is still in danger, but he is 
ready to obey his Master’s call. He is not 
designated as the power to effect the great 
revolution which should root out idolatry and 
destroy the house of Amri ; but Jehu, a great 
warrior, was to found a new dynasty and the 
king of Syria was to punish and afflict the ten 
tribes, and Eliseus was to be the mouthpiece of 
the Almighty in the court of kings. 

III. 

Eliseus was the son of a farmer, and was 
selected by Elias for his companion, as he was 
ploughing the land. Passing by the field, 
Elias without stopping, took off his shaggy 
mantle and cast it upon Eliseus. The young 
man, who was doubtless familiar with the 
appearance of the great prophet, recognized 
and accepted this significant call, and like the 
apostles of later days, “left all and followed” 
the one who had chosen him. He became 
Elias’ constant companion and pupil until the 
great man’s departure. He belonged to the 
sons of the prophets, — a community of young 
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Elias 


men who combined manual labor with theo- 
logical studies. They were teachers and 
preachers who led ascetic lives, resembling in 
many respects, the monks and friars of the 
middle ages. 

After Elias had gone from the scenes of his 
earthly labors, Eliseus became a man of the 
city and had a home in Samaria. He was 
gentle in manners and his dress was that of 
ordinary life. He was kind and affectionate, 
and became a man of great influence. He was 
the friend of three kings. Josaphat consulted 
him in war ; Joram sought his advice ; and 
Benadad in sickness, sent to him to be healed, 
for he exercised miraculous powers. He cured 
Naaman of leprosy and performed many won- 
derful deeds. 

Eliseus took no part in the revolutions of the 
palace, but he anointed Jehu to be king over 
Israel, and predicted to Hazael his future ele- 
vation. He was head of a school of prophets 
tor fifty years and when he died, he was buried 
with great pomp as a man of rank. During 
the life of Elias, Eliseus was his companion 
and helper. Unlike Elias, however, Eliseus 
preferred the companionship of men rather 
than life in a desert. He exercised a great 
influence over the king of Israel and carried on 

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the work which Elias began. He was states- 
man as well as prophet. His distinguished 
career did not begin till after Elias had as- 
cended to heaven. 

After the consecration of Eliseus, there is 
little said about Elias for some years, during 
which time Achab was involved in war with 
Benadad, king of Damascus. He was, how- 
ever, again summoned to declare the judgment 
of God on Achab for a most atrocious murder. 
In his desire to improve his grounds, Achab 
cast his eyes on a fertile vineyard belonging to 
a distinguished and wealthy citizen named 
Naboth, which had been in the possession of 
his family ever since the conquest. The king 
at first offered a large price for this vineyard 
which he wished to convert into a garden of 
flowers, but Naboth refused to sell it for any 
price. ‘‘The Lord be merciful to me,” said he 
with pride of ancestry, “that I should give the 
inheritance of my fathers.” Powerful and 
despotic as was the king, he knew that he could 
not obtain this coveted vineyard except by 
gross injustice and an act of violence; and such 
an act would be in open violation of the Jewish 
constitution. By the laws of Moses, the lands 
of the Israelites, from the time of the conquest, 
were inalienable. Even if they were sold for 
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debt, after fifty years they would revert to the 
family. The pride of ownership in real estate 
was one of the peculiarities of the Hebrews 
until after their final dispersion. After the fall 
of Jerusalem by Titus, personal property came 
to be more valued than real estate and the Jews 
became the money lenders and bankers of the 
world. They might be oppressed and robbed, 
but they could hide away their treasures. 
A scrap of paper, they soon discovered, was 
enough to transfer to safety, the largest sums. 
A Jew had only to give a letter of credit to 
another Jewish house, and a king could find 
ready money, provided he gave sufficient 
security, for any enterprise. 

Achab, disappointed in not being able, with- 
out a crime, to get possession of Naboth’s 
vineyard, abandoned himself to melancholy. 
In his deep chagrin, he lay himself down on his 
bed, turned his face to the wall, and refused to 
eat. This seems strange to us, for he had more 
than enough to enjoy the pleasures of life. 
Covetous men, however, are never satisfied. 
Achab was miserable as long as Naboth was 
resolved to retain his paternal acres. It never 
occurred to him however that he could get 
possession of the coveted vineyard by resort- 
ing to unscrupulous means. His clever wife, 
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however, came to his assistance. She devised 
the means of success. She cared nothing for 
the means employed, provided the end might 
be obtained. Yet she dared not openly seize 
the vineyard, for such an outrage might have 
caused a rebellion; it would at least have 
created a great scandal and injured her 
popularity. Moreover, Naboth was a very 
influential and wealthy citizen and had friends 
to support him. How could she remove this 
eyesore? She pondered and consulted the 
doctors of the law. They told her that if it 
could be proved that anyone, however high in 
rank, had blasphemed God and the king, he 
could legally be executed, and that his property 
would revert to the crown. So she summoned 
false witnesses who swore at the trial of 
Naboth, already seized for high treason, that 
he had blasphemed God and the king. Sen- 
tence according to law, was passed upon the 
innocent man, and according to law, he was 
stoned to death, and the vineyard, according to 
law, became the property of the crown. Jeza- 
bel, who had managed the whole affair, did not 
undertake the prosecution in her own name ; 
as a woman she had not the legal power, so she 
stole the king’s ring and sealed the indictment 
with the royal seal. 

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Elias 


Thus by force and fraud, under skillful 
technicalities, and by usurpation of the royal 
authority, the crime was consummated and had 
the sanction of the law. Oh, what crimes have 
been perpetrated in every age and country 
under cover of the law ! The early Christian 
persecutions were according to the law: Lu- 
ther brought about the so-called reformation 
which authorized the wholesale confiscation of 
public and private property, under the protec- 
tion of the law: Henry VIII, when he wished 
to marry Ann Boleyn, made use of Cranmer to 
interpret the law; usurpers and murderers 
have reigned according to the law; the cruel 
penal code of Ireland was enacted according 
to the law, which pauperized and depopulated 
the whole country : the Quakers of Pennsyl- 
vania were put into prison, and the witches of 
New England were burned at the stake accord- 
ing to the law : slavery was sustained by legal 
enactments : the great evils of the divorce 
courts are upheld by the law. There is 
scarcely a scandal or wrong which the law does 
not somehow countenance. All public and 
private evil doings appeal to legal technicali- 
ties, and how could public officials steal 
princely revenues, were it not for the law? 

Neither Achab nor Jezabel would have ven- 
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tured to seize Naboth’s vineyard, except under 
legal pretences : false witnesses swore to a lie 
and the law condemned the accused. Such 
crimes striking at the root of justice, cry to 
heaven for vengeance. On Achab, as king, 
rested the responsibility as well as on his more 
guilty partner. God in His providence made 
them pay the penalty. He avenged the death 
of Naboth. The false trial and murderous 
execution became widely known and reached 
the ears of Elias. The prophet was once more 
summoned by the divine Voice from his retire- 
ment and sent to the court of Achab with an 
awful message. Suddenly, unannounced, and 
unexpected, the man of God appeared before 
the king in his newly acquired possessions, 
suVrounded by his gardeners and artificers. 
Eljas broke forth in these dreadful words : 
'‘Thus saith the Lord: Tn the place wherein 
ytiie dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they 
' will lick thy blood also.’ ” The conscience- 
stricken, affrighted monarch could only say: 
"Hast thou found me thine enemy?” And 
terrible was the response: "Yes, I have found 
thee, and because thou hast sold thyself to do 
evil in the sight of the Lord, behold I will take 
away thy posterity and will make thy house 
like the house of Jeroboam who made Israel to 

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Elias 


sin. And as to thy wife, also saith the Lord, 
the dogs shall eat Jezabel by the wall of Jezra- 
hel. If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall 
eat him, but if he die in ‘the field, the birds of 
the air shall eat him.’’ 

Never before was such an imprecation ut- 
tered. It was more dreadful than the doom 
pronounced by Balthazar. The blood of Achab 
and his wife was to be licked up by dogs; 
their dynasty to be overthrown, and their 
whole house destroyed. This dreadful pun- 
ishment was not only on account of the crime 
committed by the murder of Naboth, but for a 
whole life devoted to idolatry. The sentence 
was to be executed immediately. This Achab 
understood better than anybody else in his 
kingdom. He was thrown into the depths of 
the most abject despair. He rent his clothes : 
he put ashes on his head, and sackcloth on his 
flesh and refused to eat or drink. He repented 
after the manner of criminals and humbled 
himself as Nebuchodonosor did before the 
most high God. The God of mercy delayed, 
but did not annul the punishment. Achab 
lived long enough to fight the king of Syria 
successfully, so that for three years there was 
peace in Israel. But Ramoth-Galaad remained 
in the hands of the Syrians, 

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"Bible Studies 

In the meantime Josaphat, king of Juda, 
who had married Athalia, daughter of Achab 
and Jezabel, and who was therefore in friendly 
social and political relations with Achab, came 
to visit them. They naturally talked about the 
war and lamented the fall of Ramoth-Galaad. 
Achab proposed a united expedition to recover 
it, to which Josaphat was consenting; but 
before embarking in an offensive war against 
a powerful state, the two monarchs consulted 
the prophets. False prophets and false friends 
are very much alike; they give advice accord- 
ing to the inclinations and the wishes of those 
who consult them. They are afraid of incur- 
ring displeasure, knowing well that no one 
likes to have his plans opposed by candid 
advisers. Therefore they all gave their voice 
for war. There was one prophet, however, 
more honest and bold, and more gifted than the 
rest, Micheas by name, who took a different 
view of the matter. He was constrained to 
speak his honest convictions, and prophesied 
evil, and was thrown into prison for his hon- 
esty and boldness. Nevertheless, Achab was 
afraid and had forebodings. Knowing his 
danger, and alarmed at the words of the 
prophet, he disguised himself for battle, but a 
chance arrow penetrated his armor and he was 

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Elias 


mortally wounded. His blood ran from his 
wound into the chariot, and when the chariot 
was washed in the pool of Samaria after Achab 
had expired, the dogs licked up the blood as 
Elias had predicted. 

The death of Achab put an end to the fight- 
ing; nor was Josaphat injured, although he 
wore his royal robes. The Syrian general had 
given orders to slay only the king of Israel. 
At one time, however, the king of Juda was in 
great peril, being mistaken for Achab; but 
when his pursuers discovered their mistake, 
they turned from the pursuit. 

Jezabel survived her husband fourteen years 
and virtually ruled the kingdom, for she was a 
woman of ability. She exercised the same 
influence over her son Ochosias that she had 
over her husband, so that the son, like the 
father, served Baal and made Israel sin. To 
this young king Elias was also sent. Ochosias 
had been seriously injured by an accidental 
fall from his upper chamber through the lat- 
tice, to the courtyard below. He sent to the 
priests of Baal to inquire whether he should 
recover or not. But Elias, by command of 
God, had intercepted the king’s messengers 
and suddenly appearing before them as was 
his custom, confronted them with these words: 
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Bible Studies 

‘‘Is there no God in Israel that thou sendest to 
Beelzebub, the God of Accron? Therefore 
thou shalt not come down from the bed on 
which thou art gone up; but thou shalt surely 
die.” On their return to Ochosias, without 
delivering their message to the God of the 
Phoenicians or Philistines, the king said : 
“Why are ye now turned back?” They re- 
peated the words of the strange man who had 
turned them back, and the king said : “What 
manner of man was he who came up to meet 
you?” They answered: “He was a hairy man 
and girt with a girdle of leather around his 
loins.” The king cried : “It is Elias, the 
Thesbite.” Whereupon Ochosias sent a band 
of fifty chosen soldiers to arrest the prophet 
who had retired to the top of a steep and 
rugged hill called Carmel. The captain of the 
troop approached and commanded him in the 
name of the king to come down ; addressing 
him as the man of God, Elias said : “If I am a 
man of God, let fire come down from heaven 
and consume thee and thy fifty.” The fire 
came down and consumed them. Again the 
king sent another band of fifty men, with their 
captain, who met with the same fate. Again 
the king sent another band of fifty, the captain 
of which came and fell on his knees before 
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Elias 

Elias, saying: “O man of God! I pray thee let 
my life and the lives of these fifty, thy servants, 
be precious in thy sight.” And the angel of 
the Lord said to Elias : *^Go down with him j 
be not afraid of him.” And he arose and went 
with the soldiers to the king, repeating to him 
the words he had sent before, that he should 
not recover, but should surely die. 

So Ochosias died as Elias prophesied and 
Joram reigned in his stead, — a brother of the 
late king. The war which was begun by 
Achab against the Syrians to recover Ramoth- 
Galaad, still continued and the stronghold was 
finally taken by the united efforts of Juda and 
Israel; but Joram was wounded and returned 
to Jezrahel to be cured. 

With the advent of Elias, a reaction against 
idolatry set in. The people were awed by his 
terrible power and also by the influence of 
Eliseus on whom his mantle fell. The people 
had not utterly fallen away from the religion of 
their fathers, as is evidenced by their com- 
pliance with the order of Elias to slay the 850 
priests of Baal. The introduction of idolatry 
had been the work of princes chiefly through 
the influence of Jezabel : and as the establish- 
ment of a false religion still continued to be 
the policy of the court, the prophets now fa- 

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vored the revolution which should overturn the 
house of Achab and exterminate it, root and 
branch. The instrument of Gbd selected for 
this work was Jehu, one of the prominent 
generals of the army. His task was made 
comparatively easy owing to the general dis- 
aflfection among the people. That a woman, 
— a foreigner, a pagan, and a female demon 
should control the government during two 
reigns was intolerable. Only a spark was 
needed to kindle the flames of a general revolt 
and restore the religion of Jehovah. 

This was brought about by the appearance of 
a young prophet at Ramoth-Galaad whom 
Eliseus had sent with an important message. 
Forcing his way to the house where Jehu and 
his brother officers were sitting in Council, he 
called Jehu apart, led him to an innermost 
chamber of the house, took out a small horn 
of sacred oil and poured it on Jehu’s head, tell- 
ing him that. God had anointed him king to 
cut off the whole house of Achab and destroy 
idolatry. On his return to the room where the 
generals were sitting Jehu communicated to 
them the message he had received. As the 
discontent of the nation had spread to the 
army, it was regarded as a favorable time to 
(192) 


Elias 


revolt from Joram who lay sick at Jezrahel. 
The army following the chief officers at once 
hailed Jehu as king. It was necessary that no 
time should be lost and that the news of the 
rebellion should not reach the king until Jehu 
himself should appear with a portion of the 
army. Jehu was just the man for such an 
occasion, — rapid in his movements, unscrupu- 
lous, yet zealous to uphold the law of Moses. 
So mounting his chariot and taking with him 
a detachment of his most reliable troops, he 
furiously drove towards Jezrahel, turning 
everybody back on the road. It was a drive of 
about fifty miles. When within six miles of 
Jezrahel, the sentinels on the towers of the 
walls noticed an unusual cloud of dust and a 
messenger was at once dispatched to know the 
meaning of the approach of chariots and 
horses. The rider, as he approached, was or- 
dered to fall back in the rear of Jehu’s force. 
Another messenger was sent with the same 
result. But Joram, discovering that the one 
who rode so rapidly must be his own impet- 
uous captain, and suspecting no treachery from 
him, ordered out his own chariot to meet Jehu, 
accompanied by his uncle Ochozias, king of 
Juda. He expected good news from the army 
(193) 


Bible Studies 

and was eager to learn it. He thought that 
Hazael, king of Damascus, who had murdered 
Benadad, had proposed peace. So, as he ap- 
proached Jehu in the very vineyard of Naboth, 
•he cried out: “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he 
answered: “What peace can be made so long 
as Jezabel bears rule?” In an instant the 
king understood the ominous words of Jehu, 
turned back his chariot and fled towards his 
palace saying: “There is treachery, Ochozias.” 
An arrow from Jehu pierced the monarch 
through the heart and he sank dead in his 
chariot. Ochozias was also mortally wounded 
by another arrow from Jehu, but he succeeded 
in reaching Mageddo where he died. Jehu 
spoke to Badacer, his captain, and recalling the 
dread prophecy of Elias, commanded the body 
of Achab’s son to be cast into the dearly bought 
field of Naboth. 

In the meantime, Jezabel from her palace 
window, had seen the murder of her son. She 
was then sixty years of age. The first thing 
she did was to paint her face and put on her 
most attractive apparel to appear as beautiful 
as possible with the hope, doubtless, of attract- 
ing Jehu. But Jezabel determined to die as 
she had lived, without fear, imperious and dis- 
(194) 


Elias 


dainful : so from her open window, she taunt- 
ingly accosted Jehu as he approached: “Can 
there be peace for Zambri who murdered his 
master?” And Jehu lifted up his face to the 
window and said: “Who is this?” Two or 
three servants looking out from behind her 
answered the summons, for the wicked and 
haughty queen had no real friends. “Throw 
her down,” ordered Jehu ; and in an instant the 
blood from her mangled body splashed upon 
the walls and upon the horses. In another 
moment the wheels of the chariot passed over 
her lifeless remains. Jehu would have per- 
mitted decent burial, “for,” said he, “she is a 
king’s daughter ;” but before her mangled 
corpse could be collected, in the general con- 
fusion, the dogs of the city had devoured all 
that remained of her, but the skull, the feet 
and the hands. 

Thus perished one of the most infamous of 
women that ever wore the royal diadem. With 
her also perished all that survived of the royal 
house of Amri. Then followed the massacre 
of the courtiers of the palace, and the remain- 
ing priests of Baal ; the destruction of the 
idolatrous temples and the restoration of the 
worship of Jehovah, the true God. The revo- 
(195) 


^ i b I e Studies 


lution extended far and wide till the inhabi- 
tants of the whole country acknowledged the 
one true and living God. 

It is not to be supposed that the relentless 
and savage Jehu was altogether moved by a 
holy zeal for Jehovah in these revolting 
slaughters. He was an ambitious and suc- 
cessful rebel; but like all notable forces, he 
may be regarded as an instrument of provi- 
dence. He was a necessary consequence of 
Achab and Jezabel. Jehovah became the 
natural rallying cry of the revolt of the Jews 
against Phoenician idolatry and foulness. 
The missionary sermons of these distant days 
were preached with the sword and the strong 
arm. God’s revelations of Himself and pur- 
poses have always been through men. The 
medium always colors the light which it trans- 
mits. The splendor of the noonday sun cannot 
shine clearly through imperfect glass; and so 
the conceptions of the Deity as delivered 
through the prophets, show the nature of the 
men delivering and receiving the inspired mes- 
sages. And yet through all the turmoil of 
those times and the startling contrast between 
the conceptions presented by the Jehovah of 
Elias and that of the gentle Jesus, — the one 
(196) 


Elias 


great central truth which the seed of Abraham 
were chosen to conserve and treasure stands 
out distinctly from the first to the last, — the 
Unity, Trinity and Eternity of God. 

The influence of Elias and his successor 
Eliseus, caused the extermination of the wor- 
ship of Baal. But some abuses still remained 
and there was but little improvement in the 
political affairs of the kingdom. It was stead- 
ily declining, and Jehu was forced to pay 
tribute to Assyria to secure protection against 
Syria: and after his death. Israel was reduced 
to the lowest depression by Hazael, and had 
not the power of Syria soon after been broken 
by Assyria, the northern kingdom would have 
been utterly destroyed. It was not given to 
Elias to foresee the future calamities of the 
Jews, or to declare them as Isaias and Jeremias 
did. It was his mission, as also Eliseus’, to 
destroy the worship of Baal and punish the 
apostate kings who introduced it. He was the 
messenger and instrument in the hands of God 
to remove idolatry, and not to predict the 
future destiny of the nation. His mission 
seems to have ended shortly after he had 
thrown his mantle on a man more accomplished 
than himself in the knowledge of the world. 

(197) 


Bible Studies 


But his last days are associated with unspeak- 
able grandeur as well as pathetic interest. 

Elias seems to have known that the day of 
his departure was at hand: so departing from 
Gilgal in company with his beloved companion, 
he proceeded toward Bethel. As he approached 
the city, he besought Eliseus to leave him 
alone, but Eliseus refused to part with the 
master he both loved and revered. Onward 
they proceeded from Bethel to Jericho, and 
from Jericho to the Jordan. It was a mourn- 
ful journey to Eliseus for he knew as well as 
the sons of the prophets at Jericho, that he and 
his master were to part for the last time on 
earth. The waters of the Jordan happened to 
be swollen and the two prophets, and the sons 
of the prophets, their pupils who came to say 
farewell, could not pass over. But the sacred 
narrative tells us that Elias, wrapping his man- 
tle like a staff, smote the waters so that they 
were divided, and the two passed over to the 
eastern bank in view of the disciples. In lov- 
ing intercourse Elias promises to give to his 
companion as a token of his love, whatever 
Eliseus may choose. Eliseus asks simply for 
a double portion of his master’s spirit, which 
Elias grants in case Eliseus shall see him dis- 

(198) 


Elias 


tinctly when taken away. “And as they went 
on walking and talking together, behold a 
fiery chariot and fiery horses, parted them both 
asunder, and Elias went up by a whirlwind 
into heaven. And Eliseus saw him and cried : 
‘My father, my father! the chariot of Israel 
and the horseman thereof. Thou art the chariot 
of Israel : thou hast been its horseman ” 
and then there fell from Elias as he van- 
ished from human sight, the mantle by which 
he had been so well known: and it became the 
sign of that fullness of divine favor which was 
given to his successor in his arduous labors to 
restore the worship of the Jehovah, “and to 
prepare the way for Him in whom all prophecy 
is fulfilled.” 


(199} 




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ESTHER 



HERE is no story in the Bible told with 


greater simplicity and beauty than that 


of which Esther is the heroine. That 
of Joseph may exceed it in pathos, and that of 
David, in religious interest, but no other Bible 
story has greater fascination, or is more sug- 
gestive. Every line sheds light on Jewish his- 
tory. It is a rich, condensed story, full of 
oriental color. It pertains to a period about 
485 B. C., one hundred years after the Jews 
were led captive to Babylon. 

The Assyrian and Babylonian empires had 
both fallen, and given place to the Persian Em- 
pire as consolidated by Cyrus, the greatest of 
all the Eastern conquerors. It embraced, at 
this time, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, 
which comprehended all the countries from 
the Indus to the Mediterranean, and from the 
Black and Caspian Seas to the extreme south 
of Arabia. The capital of this great empire 
was Suson, situated on a branch of the Tigris, 
— a city remarkable for its wealth and magni- 


(203) 


Bible Studies 

ficent royal palace. In this imperial palace, 
one thousand feet square, the monarch lived 
with everything to gratify the senses. The 
reigning monarch at the time of our story was 
Assuerus, the most beautiful, the most sensual, 
and the most powerful monarch of his age, 
before whom the eastern world bowed with 
abject submission. It was in the third year of 
his reign, that he invaded Greece with the 
largest army known to ancient or modern 
times. Before setting out on his expedition, 
he gave a great feast to the various princes and 
generals of Persia and Media commanding his 
army. For one hundred and eighty days pre- 
viously, there had been national fetes in the 
gardens of the palace for the people of his 
capital ; but this last banquet of seven days 
closed the grand festivities. 

The sacred story begins with this royal ban- 
quet, when Assuerus, inflamed with wine and 
in all the pride of irresponsible power, ordered 
the chamberlains to bring to the royal banquet- 
ing table, Vasthi, his queen, that the courtiers 
and nobles might witness and admire her 
extraordinary beauty. She belonged by birth 
to one of the princely houses of Persia, from 
which it was the custom for the Persian mon- 
archs to select their wives. She indignantly 
(204) 


Esther 


resented the insult, for it was against all the 
customs of the East, where women lived in 
seclusion. The imperial Vasthi refused to 
obey the royal summons. In this disobedience 
to her lord, whether from pride or modesty, we 
see womanly dignity which is to be admired. 
It may have been impolite for an oriental court, 
but it was marked with a self-respect that here 
in America we must admire. 

This disobedience excited the king to mad- 
ness. Though enslaved by Vasthi’s charms, 
the angry monarch was obliged to assert his 
dignity, especially before the nobles and the 
princes of his empire. They goaded him on to 
summary measures. ‘‘For,” said they, “this 
deed of the queen will go abroad to all women 
so that they shall despise their husbands. If 
it please the king, let there go forth a royal 
edict, and let it be written in the laws of the 
Medes and Persians, which must not be altered, 
that Vasthi come no more before the king; and 
let the king give her royal estate unto another 
that is better than she.” So the high-spirited 
princess was disgraced and retired within the 
dull recesses of her palace never more to see 
the husband who had loved her so well. 

The disgrace of Vasthi was not a light mat- 
ter with her husband. After his wrath was 
(205) 


Bible Studies 


appeased, his affections returned. The wife, 
through disobedience, had not forfeited her 
husband's respect. We infer that the king was 
sad and troubled. He remembered Vasthi and 
what was decreed against her. But absolute as 
he was, he could not recall her. It was one of 
the paradoxes of despotism that no Persian 
law could be repealed. The advisers who in- 
stigated the punishment, were in their turn 
alarmed : they must find somebody, if possible, 
to fill Vasthi's place. So they suggested that 
all the provinces of the Empire should be 
searched for beautiful women, and that the one 
who best pleased the king, should take Vasthi’s 
place. The proposal was accepted, and as time 
would be required, the disconsolate monarch 
buried his domestic grief, for a time, in the 
excitements of war. It is not very difficult to 
conceive that the responsibility of leading from 
two to five millions of soldiers to Greece, 
would pre-occupy his mind. 

It was then that Esther appeared upon the 
stage of history, — a Jewish maiden whose 
great-grandfather had been among the captives 
of Nabuchodonosor. She was an orphan and 
had been received into the house of her cousin 
Mardochai, as his daughter. Mardochai was 
an astute and accomplished Jew; probably a 
(206) 


Esther 


man of more than ordinary position, since he 
“sat at the king’s gate,” — a statement from 
which we infer that he held some office at 
court, for state officers were required to wait 
in the outer courts of the palace until sum- 
moned into the royal presence. Whether he 
had a hand in securing the introduction of his 
cousin to the notice of the grand chamber- 
lain, we do not know, but Esther became a 
candidate for the royal favor, and was soon 
introduced to the royal presence. Esther 
pleased the king more than any of the maidens 
who had preceded her, so that he placed the 
royal crown upon her head, and she became 
queen, adorned with the white and purple 
ribbon, the emblem of royalty, and honored by 
a magnificent banquet and a dowry equal to 
the revenues of a province. 

The Bible does not mention those arts and 
graces by which Esther became the most for- 
tunate woman in the world, further than this: 
that she obeyed the directions of the chamber- 
lain as to dress and adornment; and it is 
equally vain to speculate on the peculiarities 
of her beauty, except that it must have been 
different from that of the Persian women, who 
had blue eyes, light hair and florid complexion. 
As she was of the children of the chosen peo- 
(207) 


Bible Studies 


pie, her beauty was probably more dazzling, 
and her countenance more striking and ex- 
pressive. No women of antiquity were more 
distinguished for graceful amenities, delicacy, 
and modesty than the Hebrew, owing to the 
Mosaic legislation which had in view the ele- 
vation of women from the degradation which 
marked other oriental women, or even the 
women of Greece and Rome. Where do we 
read of such saintly maidens, such hospitable 
matrons, such obedient daughters, such faith- 
ful wives, such devoted friends, such inspired 
prophetesses, such angels of consolation, as are 
celebrated by the sacred writers? They pre- 
eminently, of all the women of antiquity, 
inspired respect. 

It was undoubtedly her virginal purity 
which won the heart even of the luxurious 
monarch. She rose before him in moral 
beauty which he could not fail to appreciate. 
How fascinating, how lasting, how inspiring, 
is this sort of beauty! How completely it 
overshadows, all sensual charms ! Moral 
beauty never decays, but remains through life, 
radiant with the glories of heaven, — the 
beauty of Ruth and Rachel, that beauty which 
the inspired Raphael and Murillo painted into 
their Madonnas. No woman has this beauty 
(208? 


Esther 


unless her character has been formed in the 
school of a godly home where her soul is fed 
on the truths of religion. 

It would seem that Esther, although ele- 
vated to royal dignity, continued to receive 
counsel from Mardochai and was still under 
his influence. Following his advice, she had 
not revealed her parentage and nationality to 
the king. Mardochai walked every day before 
the court of the women in order to learn of 
Esther’s welfare, and to keep in communica- 
tion with her. It was to her that he gave 
information concerning a conspiracy against 
the king, for it was by assassination only that 
the monarchs of antiquity could be removed. 
The conspirators were hanged, but Mardochai, 
who had rendered so great a service, was not 
rewarded. 

That the Hebrew was as ambitious as he 
was able, is not improbable. But his ambition 
yielded to his pride ; he would not do reverence 
to the royal favorite, Haman, although the 
king demanded it from all his servants. This 
Haman belonged to the race of Amalik, a race 
blasted with the malediction of Jehovah, be- 
tween whom and the Jews there had existed 
the fiercest hostility from the time of Moses. 
Owing to royal caprice Haman had been 
(209) 


Bible Studies 


advanced to the highest position in the empire, 
above all the Persian nobles and princes. 
This favorite prime minister was vain, artful, 
cruel, and malignant. All the servants of the 
king fell prostrate before him as he entered 
the royal palace ; all but Mardochai, who 
would not bow to him. His associate officers 
expostulated with him for his disobedience to a 
royal command, and for his open insult to the 
most powerful man in the kingdom ; but noth- 
ing could swerve him from his course, for he 
hated the Amelekite with more than national 
hatred. At first, it would seem that Haman, 
in his lofty bearing, did not notice the conduct 
of Mardochai, but when the insult was re- 
ported to him, and when he learned that the 
person who slighted him was a Jew, his anger 
knew no bounds. He determined to destroy, 
not only Mardochai, but all his people in Per- 
sia. He planned his revenge with exceeding 
art. He represented to his royal master that 
there were a people within his dominions who 
were hostile to his authority and full of trea- 
sons and cabals; that even their religion and 
laws forced them to treasonable and dangerous 
conspiracies, and he requested that they should 
be destroyed. But as the destruction of a 
large body of subjects would be an injury to 
(210) 


Esther 


any government, especially from a financial 
point of view, a blow to industries, Haman, 
with seeming patriotism and magnanimity, 
offered to pay ten thousand talents as a re- 
muneration to the king for the loss of revenue. 
He knew well enough that the confiscation of 
the property of the Jews would furnish him 
ample means to raise a sum equal to about 
twelve million dollars to repay the king. So 
tempting an offer was readily accepted and 
royal edicts were at once issued and sent to the 
one hundred and twenty-seven governors of 
the provinces, to kill the Jews, male and fe- 
male, high and low, old and young, within 
their domains on a certain day and to take all 
their property as spoil. When this diabolical 
edict had been promulgated, the king and 
Haman sat down to drink. 

It is easy to imagine the consternation of 
Mardochai and the despair of the Jews when 
the news reached them of the intended mas- 
sacre. The whole body went into mourning 
and fasting and wailing and weeping. Mar- 
dochai cast himself on a heap of ashes and put 
on sackcloth. Perhaps self-reproach was 
added to his other miseries when he reflected 
that his own pride and scorn had brought 
upon his people this overwhelming calamity. 

(2II) 


Bible Studies 

If he had only bowed to the haughty favorite 
as others did, and as the laws enjoined, this 
evil would not have happened. He and his 
house and his whole nation must surely perish 
unless some extraordinary interference should 
take place. Is there anything in Grecian 
tragedy more touching and more awful ? What 
terrible despair and anguish ! What was he 
to do? How could he avert the catastrophe? 
To whom should he look for aid? 

Esther, within the recesses of the palace, had 
not at first received intelligence of the heart- 
breaking calamity, but learned that Mardochai 
sat at the gate clothed in sackcloth and ashes, 
against all law and custom. She sent him 
more suitable raiment which he would not 
receive. Why was he thus cast down? She 
sent her chamberlain to inquire the cause of 
this strange grief; and Mardochai told him of 
all that had happened, and he in turn reported 
all to the queen. Mardochai also sent a mes- 
sage to her and charged her to go in to the 
king and to entreat him for her people. She 
returned this answer: “All the king’s servants 
and all the provinces that are under his domin- 
ion, know that whosoever, whether man or 
woman, cometh into the king’s inner court, 
who is not called for, is immediately to be put 
( 212 ) 


Esther 


to death without any delay, except the king 
shall hold out his golden sceptre to him in 
token of clemency that so he may live.” 

This stringent rule was rendered necessary 
in the Orient from the danger of assassination. 
No law of the empire was more rigorously en- 
forced, and even Esther dare not violate it. 
Moreover, she was apparently out of favor: she 
had not been called to the king for thirty days ; 
so she informed Mardochai of the law and of 
the imminent risk of life ; of the king’s neglect 
of her, and said she dared not do as he had 
commanded. 

But Mardochai, with the energy of despair 
and with a persistency worthy of the crisis, 
indignantly sent word to the queen : “Think 
not thou mayest save thy life only, because 
thou art in the king’s house, more than all the 
Jews; for if thou wilt now hold thy peace the 
Jews shall be delivered by some other occa- 
sion; and thou and thy father’s house shall 
perish. And who knoweth whether thou art not 
therefore come to the kingdom, that thou 
mightest be ready in such a time as this?” 

Two things are remarkable in this eloquent 
speech. One is that Mardochai believed that 
God would come to aid His people: and the 
other that he felt confident that Esther would 
(213) 


Bible Studies 

be the instrument of deliverance in the hands 
of Divine Providence. When Esther opened 
her eyes to the real issue and danger of the 
case, she showed self reliance, piety and hero- 
ism. “Go,” she said to the messenger, “and 
gather together all the Jews whom thou shalt 
find in Susan and pray ye for me. Neither eat 
nor drink for three days and three nights ; and 
I, with my handmaids, will fast in like manner; 
and then I will go to the king against the law, 
not being called, and expose myself to death 
and danger.” 

In the noble resolution of Esther, we see the 
spirit of a believer seeking God’s help in 
prayer, fasting and mortification. But she 
also seeks other means of success. She puts 
on the royal apparel after the third day and 
arrays herself in her most charming manner 
with crown and jewels. Thus appareled she 
boldly entered the inner court and stood before 
the king. It was a moment of dreadful sus- 
pense. He held to her the golden sceptre and 
she was saved. But the salvation of her peo- 
ple could be secured only by consummate 
skill. She dare not yet announce the real 
object of her visit. When told, as was usual, 
to make her request known, she simply asked 
the favor and the honor of the royal presence 
(214 


Esther 


and that of his prime minister, Haman, to a 
grand banquet she had prepared. Nothing 
could be more agreeable to the king and 
minister and they made haste to attend the 
festivities. But neither then nor there at the 
most magnificent entertainment in her power 
to give, did she make known her wishes, so 
great were the issues at stake. She waited for 
a better opportunity, and when her royal 
spouse promised to give her whatever she 
desired, she simply requested a repetition of 
the visit on the following day. 

Meanwhile the man to whom was delegated 
the government of an empire, went forth from 
the banquet, his heart inflated with exulta- 
tion. This was the greatest honor of his life. 
He had no suspicion of the parentage and peo- 
ple of the dazzling queen; he knew only her 
beauty and her station and that she had invited 
him, with the king, to two banquets in as 
many days. As he passed the outer gate, there 
sat, reserved and calm, his detested enemy, 
who neither saluted him nor bowed to him; 
still implacable, although it would seem that it 
was for his interest now to conciliate the most 
powerful man in the kingdom. Haman was 
inflamed with deeper resentment, but dis- 
sembled his indignation until he entered his 

( 215 ) 


Bible Studies 


own home, when he gave vent to his bitterness 
and wrath. “All this,’’ he said, “my power and 
riches and honors, avail me nothing, so long as 
I see Mardochai, the Jew, sitting at the king’s 
gate.” How small a thing will poison our poor 
weak nature. The sneers of Nichol disturbed 
the happiness of David when he removed the 
ark to Jerusalem, which finally led to a com- 
plete separation between them. It is so hard 
to forgive injuries, especially if our vanity is 
touched. Then said Zares, the wicked wife of 
Haman: “Let a gallows be made fifty cubits 
high, and in the morning speak to the king that 
Mardochai be hanged thereon ; then go merrily 
with him to the banquet.” Great as was 
Haman’s power he could not punish Mardochai 
without the king’s consent. 

It is further recorded that on that eventful 
night when the slaves of Haman were erecting, 
within the courts of his palace, the scaffold to 
be used for the death of his enemy, the king 
could not sleep, though lulled by the fumes of 
the banquet and the strains of music. He was 
troubled with anxious thoughts or filled with 
remorse by the sudden recollection of some ill- 
requited deed of loyalty, so he summoned his 
secretaries to read the chief incidents of his 
reign. They read, among other things, the 
(216) 


Esther 


fact that Mardochai had, a few years before, 
revealed a dangerous conspiracy, and saved his 
life. He then inquired what had been done to 
reward his benefactor. They replied that 
nothing had been done. Silently the monarch 
brooded over his own ingratitude and devised 
a tardy reparation. The morning came; but 
before the business hour arrived he seated him- 
self on his throne and inquired of his guards 
who were waiting in the outer court. They 
told him that Haman was there : for he came to 
beg the death of Mardochai. He was ordered 
into the royal presence and exulted at the ful- 
fillment of his plans. 

With blended irony and dissimulation, the 
king inquired of his minister what should be 
done to the man whom the king delighted to 
honor. To the mind of Hamari, who, but 
himself, was the fortunate man? So in his 
vanity he said : ‘^Let the royal apparel be 
brought, and sumptuous robes, and the horse 
that the king rideth upon and place the royal 
crown upon his head ; and let the first of the 
king’s courtiers, princes and nobles hold his 
horse, and going through the streets of the 
city, proclaim before him and say : ‘Thus shall 
he be honored whom the king hath a mind to 
honor.’ ” And the king said to him : “Make 
(217) 


Bible Studies 

haste and take the robe and the horse, and do 
as thou hast spoken to Mardochai, the Jew, 
who sitteth before the gate of the palace. Let 
nothing fail of all thou hast spoken.’’ 

What a crushing blow to the proud and 
revengeful Amalekite! What an abject humil- 
iation ! His hour of triumph is turned to one 
of the deepest degradation. All Haman could 
do was to veil his feelings and conceal his 
blasted hopes and execute to the letter, the will 
of the king whom he served. After the hateful 
ceremony was ended, he returned to his house, 
a crushed and desperate man. His wife under- 
stood the omen and so did his friends. Their 
words of comfort were like the handwriting on 
the wall of the banqueting hall of the king of 
Babylon. *Tf,” said these comforters, “Mar- 
dochai be of the seed of the Jews before whom 
thou hast begun to fall, thou canst not resist 
him but thou shalt fall in his sight.” Before 
he could recover from his dismay, the humil- 
iated favorite was summoned to the second 
banquet prepared by the queen, who doubtless 
had heard of the unexpected honor bestowed 
upon her relative. Not now timid and uncer- 
tain, but strong with the consciousness of 
approaching triumph, again she waits for her 
lord to speak. He sees her flushed counte- 
(218) 


Esther 


nance and imploring attitude: she evidently has 
something important to reveal. He kindly 
demands to know what her petition is, and 
promises to grant it even if it be half of his 
kingdom. • No longer she hesitates, but rising 
in the dignity of an injured and faithful queen, 
and with a preternatural earnestness and elo- 
quence, begs for the life of her people. She 
reveals her birth and nation. That she too 
was doomed to destruction by the artful min- 
ister, had never crossed the monarch’s mind. 
That his own royal decree had forfeited the 
life of the woman he so tenderly loved, filled 
him with horror ; and now for the first time he 
comprehended the enormity of taking the life 
of the man who had saved him and of the peo- 
ple who had developed the resources of the 
kingdom. ^‘We are sold,” she cried with 
piteous grief, ‘T, and my people, to be de- 
stroyed, to be slain and to perish. And if,” she 
continued with vehement eloquence, ‘Ve had 
been sold bondmen and bondwomen, the evil 
might be borne with, and I would have 
mourned in silence.” The oppression of slav- 
ery the Jews had learned to endure, but 
extermination was despair. Who could resist 
such an appeal? The monarch, in his turn, 
rises from his embroidered couch with indigna- 
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tion, and demands who and where is he that 
dost presume on such atrocity. Esther, turn- 
ing with angry eyes upon the crestfallen 
favorite who quailed before her, replied : “This 
is the man that is our adversary 'and most 
wicked enemy.” The whole plot with all its 
consequences is revealed to the astonished 
king who, in a moment of weakness, had sanc- 
tioned the most outrageous crime in the 
annals of history. Overcome with rage, re- 
morse, and grief, he conceals his feelings and 
retires to the garden. Then Haman, filled 
with fear and despair, abjectly begs Esther to 
save his wretched life. He foresees his doom. 
In his agony he even throws himself upon her 
couch and clings to her feet in abject supplica- 
tion. While he lies thus crouching with 
useless tears, the king reappears and is inflamed 
with renewed wrath at the supposition of an 
attempted crime. He summons his guards. 
They cover Haman’s face as a man to be led to 
execution. They tell the king of the gallows 
he had prepared for Mardochai. “Hang him 
upon it,” is the summary order. 

Thus miserably perished the most powerful 
subject in the empire. He reigned like a lion, 
but he died like a dog. So rapid and unex- 
pected are the changes in an oriental court: 

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Esther 


so impressive is the lesson of instability of 
fortune : so unstable is the favor of the great. 

“Oh, how wretched 

Is that poor man who hangs on prince’s favors ; 
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to, 
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin. 

More pangs and fears than wars or women have: 
And when he falls he falls like Lucifer, 

Never to hope again.” 

Mardochai now takes the place of his fallen 
enemy, being elevated in power over all the 
princes of Persia. He rules with delegated yet 
absolute sway. Yet there is one thing he can- 
not do: he cannot recall the decree for the 
destruction of his people. The king himself 
cannot recall it. Though Esther fell upon her 
knees before him and besought with tears in 
her eyes to countermand his order, he was 
powerless. Even despotism could not annul 
what it had decreed. All Mardochai or the 
king could do was to forewarn the Jews and 
authorize them to defend themselves. But it 
is not probable that the decree was rigorously 
enforced. Mardochai was too powerful a man 
for provincial governors to offend. We read 
that they even helped the Jews because they 
feared the prime minister. 

Three times it is recorded in the Bible, that 
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captive Jews became prime ministers of abso- 
lute monarchs in different parts of the Orient. 
Joseph in Egypt, Daniel at Babylon, and Mar- 
dochai in Persia. Each of these men was an 
instrument of Divine Providence in averting 
great disasters from the empires they served or 
procuring benefits for the chosen people of 
God. But the ablest and most astute of these 
ministers was Mardochai. He ruled one hun- 
dred and twenty-seven provinces : he was 
clothed with the royal robes of purple and 
white : he wore a golden crown on his head : he 
sealed his letters with the king’s own signet 
ring: his favor was courted by all the poten- 
tates. Mardochai and Esther together formed 
an irresistible power. We are told that Mar- 
dochai developed the wealth of the nation 
though he could not arrest its decay and ruin. 
He did all he could to delay the evil day. For 
his own people he averted the most terrible 
calamity that ever threatened the Jewish na- 
tion in a foreign land. So marvellous was the 
deliverance that the Jews ever afterwards 
commemorated it by a solemn festival. 

There is but one deduction to be drawn 
from the beautiful story of Mardochai and 
Esther, and that is the rule of the Almighty on 
this earth of His. It matters not how He 
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Esther 


rules, He is the great ultimate power to whom 
all things are subservient and all people 
personally accountable. In the story before 
us, His name is not even mentioned, yet how 
plain His hand. Miracles do not more im- 
pressively show divine interference than the 
course things were made to take in the court of 
Assuerus. How God permits good to come 
out of evil ! If we had no other record of 
God’s dealings with man than the book of 
Esther, we should know that the Almighty 
controls human affairs. Mardochai and Esther 
were signal instruments of His power and 
from first to last, alike, they show His benevo- 
lence and loving kindness. The fate of Haman 
is a crushing demonstration of divine judg- 
ment. He was on the threshold of success and 
yet in a moment, the hand of justice smote 
him. To all human calculations, it was mor- 
ally certain that the Jews would be exter- 
minated in the Persian Empire; and yet they 
were saved by a great deliverance as marked 
as when the Israelites escaped the pursuing 
hosts of Pharaoh. The same Almighty hand 
that led His people through the Red Sea, 
rescued them from the malignant vengeance 
of a powerful minister. Who turned the heart 
of a mighty monarch to a Jewish maiden and 
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Jewish captive? Who exalted Esther to a 
queenly rank and Mardochai to an exalted 
station? Is it not as easy for God to direct 
and mould the mind of a king for the accom- 
plishment of a great end, as to send pestilence 
or famine on a degenerate people? Men are 
indeed free to act, but cannot the human will 
be influenced by external forces? If we are 
influenced by kindred spirits, why not by the 
grace of God? When God ordained the over- 
throw of Napoleon, why did the wise and 
successful conqueror make so absurd a blunder 
as to make war on Christ’s Church and His 
Vice-regent, — Pope Pius VII ? Why did he 
invade Russia and Spain when his forces were 
divided and demoralized? Why did the arms 
fall from the hands of the soldiers? Was it 
not as easy for God to inflate Napoleon with 
delusions as to harden the heart of Pharaoh? 
These questions cannot be solved in any satis- 
factory manner except by the recognition of 
Him who controls the elements. 

Science cannot go back of the power which 
controls and sustains the universe. It may 
resolve the universe into atoms ; but who 
created the atoms? Who raised up St. Paul, 
St. Augustin, St. Thomas Aquinas and a 
Leo XIH to fight the intellectual battle of the 
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Esther 


Church ? Who protects a good man in danger 
and saves the feeblest amid the billows of the 
sea? We destroy all faith when we accept 
only what imperfect science demonstrates. 
Everything takes place according to law, but 
which is greater, the laws themselves or the 
creator of the laws? The fool says in his 
heart there is no God. 

The story of Esther tells us that God ruleth 
in judgment. We cannot escape His hand 
even if we take the wings of the morning and 
fly to the uttermost parts of the sea. Every 
sham shall be exposed and every sin shall be 
found out. The envious and proud shall have 
their fall. Justice must be vindicated here or 
hereafter. The blackmailer and sycophant 
will come to grief. His double life will cry 
out against him. This very law is written in 
the heart of man. He who made conscience to 
be such a terrible scourge to the wrongdoer, is 
the same who created that sublime conscious- 
ness of virtue in the soul of man to make him 
as confident of deliverance in danger as was 
Daniel in the lions’ den ; as serene as Moses 
when he led the hosts of Israel : as bold and 
defiant as Mardochai when he sat in the outer 
court of the palace and saw the powerful 
Haman pass triumphantly by him after issuing 
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the decree of the king for the slaughter of the 
Hebrew race. 

The Church gives the book of Esther an 
allegorical significance. In the person of 
Assuerus, God is shadowed forth, and in that 
of Esther the Blessed Virgin Mary. As 
Assuerus selected Esther in preference to all 
others for her virtue and beauty, and elevated 
her to the position of Queen of the Persians, so 
God chose Mary from amongst all creatures 
for her transcendent virtues, and exalted her to 
the rank of Queen of angels and of saints. 

Esther is one of the many types, in Holy 
Scripture, of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This 
is the interpretation given of the beautiful 
story by the Fathers of the Church. As 
Esther soothed the anger of Assuerus by her 
eloquent pleading and saved her nation from 
destruction, so Mary, by the loveliness of her 
virtues, rendered the Almighty so favorable 
that He not alone chose her to be the Mother 
of His Divine Son, but also made her the dis- 
penser of His graces. 


(226') 


JUDAS MACHABEUS 



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JUDAS MACHABEUS 


A fter the heroic ages of Joshua, Gideon 
and David, no great warriors appeared in 
Jewish history equal to Judas Machabeus 
and his brethren, in bravery, in patriotism and 
in noble deeds. He delivered the Hebrew nation 
when it had sunk to abject submission under 
the kings of Syria and when its glory and 
strength alike had departed. The conquests of 
Judas were marvelous. No hero of ancient or 
modern times surpassed him in courage and 
ability — his remarkable exploits would be con- 
sidered fabulous were they not so well attested 
to by the Canonical Books bearing the name of 
our hero. 

Before presenting the wonderful story of 
Judas Machabeus, let us examine the circum- 
stances that have made his career so remarkable 
and eventful. 

On the return of the Jews from the Baby- 
lonian captivity there was but the nucleus of a 
nation; more remained in Persia and Assyria 
than returned to Judea. It was but a weak 

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colony, too feeble to attract the attention of the 
surrounding monarchs. The population in all 
probability did not exceed one-fourth of the num- 
ber Moses had led out of Egypt, could not fur- 
nish a tenth of the number of fighting men en- 
rolled in the armies of Saul — in fact it only ex- 
isted as a state under the protection of the Per- 
sian Monarchs. The Temple as rebuilt by 
Nehemiah bore but a feeble resemblance to that 
which Nabuchodonosor destroyed : it had neither 
costly vessels, nor golden ornaments, nor pre- 
cious woods to remind the scattered and impov- 
erished people of the glory of Solomon. Al- 
though the walls of Jerusalem were partially re- 
stored, its streets were filled with the debris and 
ruins of ancient palaces. The city was fortified, 
but the strong walls and lofty towers which 
made it almost impregnable were not restored 
as in the days of the old monarchs. It took no 
great force to capture the city and demolish its 
fortifications. The vast treasures which had 
been accumulated in the Temple and palaces by 
David, Solomon and Ezekiel had been dis- 
persed and squandered by the Nations of the 
Orient. Not only was the Holy City a desola- 
tion on the return of the Jews, but the rich vine- 
yards and olive grounds and wheat fields had 
been allowed to run to waste and there were 


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Judas Machabeus 

few to till and improve them. The few who 
returned were broken in spirit and helpless. 
During their long captivity they formed a dread- 
ful hatred for all forms of false religion such as 
the persecuted Christians of the East have to- 
day for the followers of the false prophet, or the 
Irish of the last century had for their English 
rulers. The Jews in their dreary, humiliating 
captivity perceived that idolatry was the cause 
of all their calamities ; though no national pros- 
perity was possible for them as the chosen peo- 
ple, except by sincere allegiance to Jehovah, yet 
at no period of their history were they more truly 
religious and loyal to their invisible King than 
for two hundred years after their return to the 
land of their ancestors. The terrible lesson and 
sorrow experienced during their captivity was 
not lost on them. It is true that they were but 
a remnant of their former greatness but they 
believed that they had been saved to carry out 
the designs of the Almighty. A Redeemer was 
to arise among them whose reign was to be 
glorious and everlasting. This firm belief was 
part and parcel of their natural existence. It 
was the fulfillment of the promise made to Abra- 
ham wich was reiterated again and again by the 
patriarchs and prophets of the centuries. 

The returned exiles practised a morality as 

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marked as their faith in God. They were ten- 
acious in living up to the laws and ceremonies 
commanded by Moses. They kept the Sabbath 
with great strictness; they preserved the tradi- 
tions of their fathers with great care; they even 
went beyond the requirements of Moses. Thus, 
there gradually arose among them a sect known 
as the Pharisees whose leading peculiarity was 
a slavish observance of all the technicalities of 
the law of Moses and of tradition. They were 
a sect exceedingly narrow and powerful. They 
multiplied observances, gave tithes, fasted and 
prayed, all for outward appearances. A natural 
reaction to this severity produced another sect 
called the Sadducees which embraced the more 
liberal and cultivated part of the nation. The 
members of this sect refused to acknowledge 
the traditions of Moses and held themselves 
bound only by the written law of Moses. They 
disbelieved in the resurrection of the dead, for 
which reason their opinions were condemned by 
the Pliarisees. They had more social and less 
religious life than their rivals. About this time 
a great change was introduced into Jewish re- 
ligious life in the establishment of synagogues. 
To these the great body of the people resorted 
on the Sabbath rather than to the Temple. In 
return the law was expounded by the Scribes 

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Judas Machabeus 


whose business it was to study tradition as em- 
bodied in the Talmud. There were at one time 
as many as four hundred synagogues in Jerusa- 
lem alone. The Temple was reserved for grand 
occasions and festivals; the synagogue was a 
sort of a Church for the use of the people in 
ordinary service — a place for religious instruc- 
tion — the Temple — like our Cathedrals — objects 
of piety where the ceremonial of the church is 
carried out in all its splendor — adorned with the 
most beautiful within the gift of man — but re- 
served for grand festivals. The synagogues 
represented the democratic element of Judaism 
and yet did not ignore the Temple. 

Contemporaneous with the synagogues was 
the sanhedrim or grand council, composed of 
seventy-one members made up of elders, scribes 
and priests, men learned in the law, representing 
both Pharisees and Sadducees. It was the 
business of this high council to settle disputed 
texts of Scripture, also all questions of a moral 
nature, such as pertained to marriage, inherit- 
ance and contracts. It met in one of the build- 
ings connected with the Temple. It was pre- 
sided over by the high-priest and was a dignified 
and powerful body, its decisions being binding 
on the Jews outside of Palestine. It was not 
unlike our Roman congregations established for 

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the settlement of all theological questions. Be- 
fore this Council our Blessed Savior Jesus Christ 
was summoned proclaiming Himself the Mes- 
sias; also Peter, Paul and John. 

Thus, in two hundred years after the Jews 
returned from captivity, we see the rise of insti- 
tutions adapted to their circumstances and 
changed conditions. Great strides were made 
during this period in sacred literature. Some 
of the most beautiful portions of the Bible were 
written at this time by inspired men whose 
names have perished. 

For upwards of two hundred years after the 
return of the Jews from their captivity, peace 
and tranquility reigned over the country. The 
people had no intercourse with surrounding 
nations — they led the life of poverty and labor, 
being constantly surrounded by dangers. This 
changed condition formed in them manly ener- 
gies and heroic courage. They had no stand- 
ing army but they had the material from which 
armies could be formed on any emergency. It 
was a fruitful period for the development of 
great civic virtues. If they had no pagan liter- 
ature they had their holy scriptures, if they had 
no good theatres for their amusement they could 
meet in their synagogues and grand Temple, if 
they had no king they accepted the government 

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Judas Machabeus 

of the high-priest who ruled in the name of 
Jehovah, if they had no great body of nobles, 
they had their sanhedrim or grand council 
composed of their leading men, by whom 
all disputes and contentions were settled. Such 
was the condition of the Jewish people at this 
remote period of their history. The Persian 
Kings still held sway. 

About this time Judea came under the do- 
minion of the victorious Alexander who favored 
the Jews till his death, 322 B. C. A few years 
later Ptolemy, King of Egypt, invaded Judea, 
took Jerusalem and sent a large number of 
prisoners to Alexandria. Under his reign 
Egypt became a powerful kingdom. Alexan- 
dria, under Ptolemy’s son, Philadelphus, became 
commercially the first capital of the world. It 
soon grew to be a great intellectual centre and 
its famous library was the largest ever collected 
in Ancient times. This city was the home of 
scholars and philosophers from all parts of the 
world. Under the auspices of this enlightened 
ruler the Hebrew scriptures were translated in- 
to Greek by Hebrew scholars sent by the High 
Priest at Jerusalem, the version being known 
as the septuagint. This was of great service to 
sacred literature and to the educated among the 
heathen nations who were familiar with the 


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Greek language. In all this we see the hand of 
Divine Providence, Who wished to prepare the 
world for the coming of the Savior. 

The Jews for nearly two hundred years 
enjoyed great prosperity and peace, but new 
calamities were in store for them. Judea once 
more became the battle ground for the contend- 
ing armies of Egypt and Syria. She was cruel- 
ly oppressed by the Syrian Kings in conse-' 
quence of which many Jews emigrated and be- 
came merchants, bankers, and artisans in all the 
great cities of the world. It was at this period, 
under the reign of Antiochus, that a new deliv- 
erer arose, Judas, the son of the brave and 
pious Mathathias, who defied the cruel, rapacious 
tyrant Antiochus. His brothers and the people 
gathered about him and pledged themselves to 
follow him in fighting the battles of the Lord. 
He put on his armor as a hero and was like a 
lion in his acts, and like a lion’s whelp roaring 
for his prey. He pursued and punished the 
enemies of his people so that they lost courage 
and everywhere were vanquished. Like Joshua 
he went through the cities of Juda destroying 
the heathens and spreading terror in the ranks 
of the enemy. His fame spread throughout the 
land. New armies were raised and hurled upon 
this stricken people to meet defeat and humilia- 

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Judas Machabeus 

tion at the hands of Judas and his intrepid war- 
riors. He looked to heaven for aid, for he 
knew that “victory was not through the multi- 
tude of an army” but that “from Heaven cometh 
the strength.” The fame of Judas spread far 
and wide and he became a terror to the sur- 
rounding pagan nations. 

King Antiochus, filled with wrath and ven- 
geance, gathered together all the forces of his 
kingdom, opened his treasury, paid his soldiers 
a year in advance and resolved to exterminate 
the rebellious nation. He placed his armies in 
charge of most experienced generals while he 
himself went in person to Persia to collect trib- 
ute from the various provinces and to seize all 
the treasures which were supposed to be de- 
posited in the royal cities beyond the Euphrates. 
The rebels were to be exterminated, their lands 
confiscated and given to heathen aliens. 

Jerusalem at this time was a forsaken city, 
uninhabited, deserted like a wilderness ; the 
sanctuary was trodden down and heathen for- 
eigners occupied the citadel on Mount Sion. It 
was a time of general mourning and desolation 
and the sound of the harp and the pipe ceased 
throughout the land. But Judas was not dis- 
couraged; and the noble band of warriors were 
determined to redeem the land from desolation. 


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Bible Studies 

They put on sack cloth and ashes and prayed 
to the God of their fathers and made every ef- 
fort to rally their forces. Judas succeeded in 
collecting three thousand men who, although 
poorly armed, defeated the magnificent army of 
the enemy and captured immense spoils of gold 
and silver and military stores. The Israelites 
returned to their deserted camps singing psalms 
and blessing Heaven for the great victory. 

The following year Lysias collected a new 
army of nearly one . hundred thousand and re- 
newed the attack. They marched to the Idu- 
maean border where Judas met him with ten 
thousand men, who, inspired by victory, again 
defeated the Syrian forces. Lysias, who com- 
manded this army in person, returned to Antioch 
and made preparations to raise a still greater 
force, while the victorious Jews took possession 
of the Capital. 

Judas had now leisure to restore and cleanse 
the sacred sanctuary which had been desecrated 
by the enemies of God. When the Jews beheld 
the desolation of their holy City — grass and 
rubbish covering the streets; trees growing in 
the very courts of the temple; the altars pro- 
faned; the gates burned — they were filled with 
grief and rent their garments and cried aloud 
to heaven. But Judas proceeded with his work, 

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Judas Machabeus 

pulled down the defiled altar of burnt sacrifice 
and rebuilt it, cleansed the sanctuary, hallowed 
the desecrated courts, made new holy vessels, 
decorated the front of the temple with crowns 
and shields of gold, and restored the gates and 
chambers. Judas also fortified the temple with 
high walls and towers and placed in it a strong 
garrison, for the Syrians still held possession 
of the Tower, a strong fortress near the mount 
of the Temple. 

When all was cleaned and renewed, a solemn 
service of the rededication of the temple was 
celebrated; the sacred fire was kindled afresh 
on the altar, thousands of lamps were lighted, 
the sacrifices were ofifered, the people thronged 
the Courts of Jehovah and with psalms and 
canticles, festive dances, harps, lutes and cym- 
bals made joyful the glorious ceremonies in 
honor of the most High God. The triumphant 
restoration was celebrated for three years to the 
very day from the day of desecration : it was 
forever after, as long as the temple stood, ob- 
served as a sacred yearly festival and called the 
feast of the Dedication, or sometimes, from its 
glorious ceremonies, ‘‘The feast of lights.’' 

The success of Judas and the restoration of 
the temple service inflamed with renewed anger 
the heathen population of the countries in the 

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Bible Studies 

near vicinity of Jerusalem, and there seemed to 
have been a general confederacy of Idumaeans, 
descendants of Esau, with sundry Beduin tribes 
and heathen strangers, to recover what the 
Syrians had lost and to restore pagan worship. 
Judas divided his army between himself and his 
brother Simon and they marched in different 
directions to the attack of their numerous ene- 
mies. They were both eminently successful, 
gaining bloody battles, capturing cities and fort- 
resses, taking immense spoils, mingling the 
sounds of trumpets with prayers to Almighty 
God, heroes as religious as they were brave, an 
unexampled army of warriors rivaling Joshua, 
Saul and David in the brilliancy of their victo- 
ries. All the Jews who remained true to the 
faith of their fathers in the districts that were 
overrun and desolated Judas brought back with 
him to Jerusalem for greater safety. 

One great misfortune sullied the glory of 
these exploits — Judas had left behind him at 
Jerusalem when he and Simon went forth to 
fight the idolaters, a garrison of two thousand 
men under the command of Joseph and Azarias, 
the leaders of the people, with the strict com- 
mand to remain within the city walls until he 
should return. But these popular leaders daz" 
zled by the victories of Judas and Simon and 

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Judas Machabeus 

wishing to earn a fame like theirs, issued from 
their stronghold with two thousand men to at- 
tack Jamnia, and were met by Georgias, the 
Syrian General, and completely annihilated, a 
well deserved punishment for their disobedi- 
ence. The loss of two thousand men was a 
calamity, but Judas continued his victories and 
finally vanquished the Philistines. 

King Antiochus, who returned from Persia, 
heard that his armies under Lysias had been 
disgracefully beaten and that Judea was in a 
fair way to achieve its independence under the 
heroic Judas; and worse still that all the Pagan 
temples and altars in Jerusalem which he had 
set up had been destroyed or removed. This 
so oppressed this heathen persecutor and filled 
him with such a rage that he took to his bed 
and, seeing that he must die, for he was afflicted 
with a loathsome disease, he appointed his friend 
Philip regent of the vast kingdom during the 
minority of his son. 

Thus the Jews were delivered from the 
worst enemy that had afflicted them since the 
Babylonian captivity. Neither Assyrians, nor 
Egyptians, nor Persians had so ruthlessly swept 
away religious institutions. These conquerors 
were contented with conquest and its political 
results, namely, the enslavement and spoliation 

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Bible Studies 

of the people; they did not dare to pollute the 
sacred places like the Syrian persecutor. By 
the rivers of Babylon the Jews had sat down 
and wept when they remembered Sion, but their 
wailing was over the fact that they were cap- 
tives in a strange land. Ground down to the 
dust by Antiochus, however, they bewailed not 
only their external misfortunes but far more 
bitterly the desecration of their sanctuary and 
the attempt to root out their religion which was 
their very life. 

The death of Antiochus was therefore a 
great relief to the struggling Jews. Civil wars 
soon ensued owing to the rival claims of Lysias 
and Philip, in consequence of which the Jews 
were comparatively unmolested. This calm 
gave them leisure to reorganize their forces, 
fortify their strongholds and prepare for com- 
plete independence. Among other things Judas 
Machabeus attacked the citadel on Mount Sion 
overlooking the temple in which a large garri- 
son of the enemy had long been stationed and 
which was a perpetual menace. The attack on 
this strong fortress alarmed the heathens who 
made complaint to the young king Eupator, who 
sent an overwhelming army into Judea consist- 
ing of one hundred thousand men, twenty thou- 
sand horses and thirty elephants. Judas did 

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Judas Machabeus 

not hesitate to give battle to this great force 
and again gained a victory. It cost him how- 
ever the life of his valiant brother Eleazar. 
Seeing one of the elephants armed with royal 
armor he supposed that it carried the king; and 
personally forcing his way through the ranks of 
the enemy he slipped under the elephant and gave 
the beast a mortal wound so that he fell to the 
ground crushing to death the courageous brother. 

The battle however was not decisive. Lysias 
advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it. But 
hearing of the victories of Philip, he made 
peace with Judas and returned to his capital 
where he found Philip, master of the city. He 
recovered his capital but it was only for a short 
time, for, Demetrius who had been sojourning at 
Rome, returned to the palace of his ancestors 
and, slaying both Lysias and Philip, reigned in 
their stead. 

The Jews were soon involved in a war with 
the new king. Evil minded men, hostile to 
Judas, went to Antioch with their complaints, 
headed by Alcimus who wished to be high priest, 
and inflamed the anger of the King, Demetrius. 
The new monarch sent one of his ablest gener- 
als, Bacchides, with an army to chastise the 
Jews and to reinstate Alcimus, who had been 
ejected from his high office. This wicked high- 

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Bible Studies 

priest overran the country with the forces of 
Bacchides who had returned to Antioch but did 
not prevail; so the King sent Nicanor already 
experienced in this Jewish war with a still larger 
army against Judas. The gallant Machabeus 
gained a great victory and slew Nicanor him- 
self. This battle gave another respite to the 
afflicted land of Juda. 

Meanwhile, Judas, hearing that the Syrian 
forces would ultimately overpower him, sent 
an embassy to Rome to invoke protection. The 
conquests of Rome were known in the Orient, 
at this time (162 B. C). Italy was subdued, 
Spain had been added to the Empire, Mace- 
donia had been conquered. Syria had been 
threatened and Carthage was soon to fall. The 
Senate was then the ruling power at Rome and 
was at the height of its dignity. The Senate 
received with favor the Jewish embassy and 
promised protection. Had Judas known what 
that protection meant he would have been the 
last man in the world to seek it. 

The alliance with Rome did not save Judea 
from the continued hostilities of Syria. Deme- 
trius sent Bacchides with another army which 
laid siege to Jerusalem where Judas had only 
eight hundred men to resist an army of twenty 
thousand foot and two thousand horse men. 


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Judas Machabeus 

His forces dwindled away by perpetual con- 
tests. Against the advice of his faithful war- 
riors he resolved to fight. Gallantly and stub- 
bornly did he contest the field from morning to 
night, and at last, hemmed in between two 
wings of the Syrian army he fell in the battle. 

The heroic career of Judas Machabeus was 
ended. He had accomplished marvelous things. 
For six years he resisted and often defeated 
overwhelming forces. He had fought more 
battles than David. He had kept the enemy at 
bay while his prostrate country arose from the 
dust; he had put to flight and slain tens of 
thousands of the heathens ; he had recovered and 
fortified Jerusalem; he had restored the temple 
worship; he was thoughtful and charitable to 
the living and the dead. ; he sent large sums of 
money to the temple to have prayers offered for 
the souls of the soldiers slain in battle ; he had 
trained his people to be virtuous and prayerful 
and at the same time warlike and heroic. At 
last he was slain when his followers were scat- 
tered by successive calamities. For six years 
he waged a successful war against the most 
powerful monarchy of the Orient. Amid all 
his labors he had kept the law, being revered 
for his virtues as much as for his heroism. Not 
a single crime sullied his glorious name and 


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when he fell at last exhausted, the nation la- 
mented him as David mourned for Jonathan 
saying “How is the mighty fallen.” A greater 
hero than he was, never adorned any age of 
heroism. Jildas was not only a mighty general 
but a wise statesman, so revered, that accord- 
ing to Josephus, in his closing years he was 
made high priest also, thus combining in his 
person both temporal and spiritual authority. 

The death of Judas was followed by great 
disorders and general despondency. His mantle 
fell on his brother Jonathan. This prince was 
so successful in several engagements with Bac- 
chides that the Jews had a cessation from hos- 
tilities for two years. Jonathan improved his 
opportunities and fortified Jerusalem, but his 
prosperous career was cut short by treachery. 
He was inveigled by the Syrian General into 
Plotemais with a few followers under false 
promises and slain. 

Simon, the only remaining brother, became 
both supreme ruler and High Priest. He de- 
voted himself to the internal affairs of the State. 
He fortified Jaffa, the only port in Judea, re- 
duced hostile cities and made himself master 
of the famous fortress of Mount Sion so long 
held by the Syrians, which he not only leveled 
to the ground, but he even razed the summit of 


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Judas Machabeus 

the hill on which it stood so that it should no 
longer overlook the Temple area. The Temple 
became not only the sanctuary but also one of 
the strongest fortresses in the world. 

Simon enforced the laws with rigorous im- 
partiality, repaired the Temple, restored the sa- 
cred vessels, replaced the altars, offered daily 
sacrifices for the repose of the souls of his faith- 
ful soldiers who were slain in battle and secured 
general peace with all neighboring nations. 
Even the lands desolated by the wasting wars 
again rejoiced in fertility. Every man sat under 
his own vine and fig-tree in safety. A friendly 
alliance with Rome was renewed by a present 
of a Golden Shield that weighed one thousand 
pounds. Even the ambassadors of the sur- 
rounding nations marveled at the splendor of 
Simon’s palace and at the riches of the Temple, 
which surpassed even the glory of Solomon’s 
magnificent edifice. In the year 143 B. C., the 
Jews began a new epoch in their history after 
23 years of almost incessant warfare. 

Simon, like his brothers, was destined to end 
his life by violence. He was treacherously 
murdered by his son-in-law Ptolemy who as- 
pired to the exalted office of High Priest, leaving 
his son John Hyrcanus to reign in his stead in 
the year 136 B. C. The rule of the Machabees, 

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the five sons of Mathathias, lasted 30 years. 
They were the founders of the Osmonean dy- 
nasty, who ruled the country as Kings and 
High Priests. 

With the death of Simon, our studies of the 
Old Testament should end. Yet a rapid glance 
at the Jewish nation under the rule of the Os- 
monean princes and the Idumaenan Herod will 
connect the Old and New Testament more 
closely. 

John Hyrcanus the first of the Osmonean 
Kings was an able sovereign who ruled twenty- 
nine years. He threw off the Syrian yoke and 
the Jewish kingdom maintained its independence 
until it fell under the Roman sway. His most 
memorable feat was the destruction of the 
Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim, which 
had been an eye-sore to the people of Jerusalem 
for two hundred years. He then subdued 
Idumaea and compelled the people of that coun- 
try to adopt the Jewish religion. He main- 
tained a strict alliance with the Romans and be- 
came master of Samaria and Galilee. He built 
the Castle of Baris on a rock that was within 
the fortifications which surrounded the hill of 
the Temple. 

Hyrcanus died 158 B. C, and was succeeded 
by his son, Aristobulus, a weak and wicked 

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Judas Machabeus 

prince, who assassinated his brother and starved 
to death his mother in a dungeon. The next 
King, Alexander, was a brave but unsuccessful 
ruler who died after a turbulent reign of 27 
years, 77 B. C. His widow, Alexandra, ruled as 
regent with great tact and energy for nine years 
and was succeeded by her son, Hyrcanus II, a 
feeble and unfortunate prince who, through the 
intrigues of his brother, was obliged to seek the 
protection of Rome. They came as arbiters 
and remained as masters. This was while Judea 
was under the nominal rule of Hyrcanus H. 
Pompey, triumphant over the armies of the 
East, took Jerusalem, entered the Temple, de- 
molished the walls of the city and imposed a 
tribute. On the fall of Pompey, Caesar, the 
hero, became the victor. 

Herod, called the Great, was the last in- 
dependent sovereign of Palestine. He reigned 
in a state of magnificence unknown before his 
time. He built a new and magnificent palace 
on the hill of Sion and rebuilt the fortress of 
Baris which he called Antonia in honor of his 
friend and patron, Antony. He also erected 
citadels in different cities of his kingdom and 
rebuilt Samaria; he founded Caesarea and col- 
onized it with Greeks so that it became a great 
maritime city rivaling Tyre in magnificence and 

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strength. But Herod’s greatest work was the 
rebuilding of the Temple on a scale of unexam- 
pled magnificence. He was also very liberal 
in the distribution of corn during the time of 
famine. He stood in high favor with the Ro- 
man Emperor whom he won over by his rich 
presents and his devotion to imperial interests. 

Herod’s latter days were clouded by the in- 
trigues of his Court, by treason and conspiracies 
which led the suspicious despot to the murder 
of his sons. He was the victim of jealousy, 
suspicion, and wrath. One of his last acts was 
the order to destroy the infants in the vicinity 
of Jerusalem in the vain hope of destroying the 
predicted Messias — Him, who should “be King 
of the Jews.” He died of a loathsome disease 
in his seventieth year having reigned forty 
years. His kingdom was, by his will, divided 
between the children of his later wife, a Samar- 
itan woman, the eldest of whom, Archelaus, be- 
came monarch of Judea ; and the second, An- 
tipas, became Tetrarch of Galilee. The former 
married the widow of his half brother Alexan- 
der, who was executed ; and the latter married 
Herodias, wife of Philip, also his half brother. 
She it was who caused St. John the Baptist to 
be beheaded. 

Archelaus ruled with so much injustice and 
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Judas Machabe us 

cruelty that he was exiled and Judea became a 
province of Rome under the prefecture of Syria. 
The Jewish Sanhedrim, the judicial civil Ec- 
clesiastical council, now directed all the public 
transactions of the province, being inferior only 
to the tribunal of the Governor who resided at 
Caesarea. 

Meanwhile, the long expected and promised 
Messias appeared, not as a temporal prince and 
mighty hero of war — greater than David, Solo- 
mon, or Judas Machabeus, but a helpless infant 
born in a manger — the son of the Virgin Mary 
and Joseph the Carpenter. He it was who es- 
tablished a spiritual kingdom that would last 
forever. With the advent of Jesus of Nazareth 
in which we behold the fulfillment of all the 
promises made to the chosen people from Abra- 
ham down through a long line of prophets, Jew- 
ish history loses its chief interest. The mission 
of the Hebrew nation is accomplished. The 
life and teachings of Jesus Christ as taught by 
the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, hence- 
forth becomes the great spiritual power of the 
world. 


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PART II 

THE NEW TESTAMENT 
BIBLE STUDIES 



THE NEW TESTAMENT 


I T matters little what precise date the gospels 
and other inspired writings of the New Tes- 
tament bear, for contemporary history sup- 
ports them. If they did not appear in their 
present written form until many years after the 
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, they never- 
theless existed in the mouths of the Apostles and 
Evangelists, in the blood of a multitude of mar- 
tyrs, in the hatred of the world, and in the breasts 
of millions of faithful followers of the Crucified 
One. 

We see in the style and accent of the gospels the 
different personages who wrote them, each of 
whom draws, also, a distinctive picture of our 
Blessed Redeemer without taking into consider- 
ation the work of his inspired neighbor. In the 
respective productions of these writers there stand 
forth the same Christ, the same sublimity, the 
same tenderness, and the same divine personage ; 
they saw Him with their senses quickened with a 
love that joyfully poured out its life-blood for the 
Faith He planted in their souls, and, though 

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representing many nationalities, they furnish us 
with but one gospel. Only once in the history of 
the world has God sat before His creatures for 
His likeness; and the sacred writers were the 
witnesses, and the painters. 

In the short essays which follow, it is proposed 
to give brief sketches of the lives of the writers 
who were chosen by divine Providence to prop- 
agate the teachings of the Master — sketches 
which are intended for our Sunday Schools, but 
which may also be utilized profitably by the busy 
man and the family circle, 


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ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST 



ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST 


S T. AUGUSTINE observes that the church 
usually celebrates the festivals of the saints 
on the day of their death; which is, in the 
true estimate of things, their great birthday to 
eternal life. The same Father adds, that the 
nativity of St. John is an exception to this rule. 
The reason for this distinction is, because this 
saint was sanctified in his mother’s womb. (Luke 
i. 15, 41.) He was brought forth into the world 
in a state of holiness imparted to him by the pres- 
ence of our Divine Redeemer, in the visit made 
by the Blessed Virgin to St. Elizabeth. The 
birth of the precursor of the Messiah was a mys- 
tery, which brought great joy to the world, an- 
nouncing its redemption to be at hand ; it was in 
itself miraculous, and was ushered in with many 
prodigies. God, Who had often marked the birth 
of great prophets by signs and wonders, was 
pleased, in an extraordinary manner, to honor that 
of the Baptist, who, both by the dignity of his 
office, and by the eminent degree of grace and 
sanctity to which he was raised, surpassed, ac- 

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Bible Studies 

cording to the Word of God, all the ancient patri- 
archs and prophets. His father Zachary was a 
holy priest of the family of Abia, one of the 
twenty-four sacerdotal families into which the 
children of Aaron were divided, in order that they 
might all serve in the temple by turns. Elizabeth, 
the wife of this virtuous priest of the old law, was 
also a descendant of the house of Aaron, though 
her mother was probably of the tribe of Juda, 
Elizabeth herself being cousin to the Blessed Vir- 
gin. The Holy Ghost assures us that Zachary 
and Elizabeth were both just; and that they 
walked in the presence of the Lord without blame. 

Zachary lived at Hebron, a sacerdotal town in 
the central part of the land of Judea, about twenty 
miles from Jerusalem. David, when he appoint- 
ed the service of the temple, soon after to be built, 
divided the priests into twenty-four classes, each 
of which was by turn to officiate in the temple a 
week at a time. Among these classes, that of Abia 
was reckoned the eighth in the time of David. 
It was usual for the priests of every family or 
class, when it came to their turn, to select by lot 
one among themselves who should perform the 
several parts of the service of that week. It fell 
to the lot of Zachary in the turn of his administra- 
tion, to offer the daily morning and evening sacri- 
fice of incense, on the golden altar in the inner 

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St. John The Baptist 

part of the temple, called the Sanctuary. This 
sacrifice was prescribed as an emblem of the 
homage which all men are bound to pay God by 
morning and evening prayer. It happened that 
while Zachary was offering the incense one day 
for this sacrifice, and the people were praying out- 
side the sanctuary, the Angel Gabriel appeared to 
him, standing at the right side of the altar of in- 
cense. Zachary being struck with great terror 
and amazement, was encouraged by the angel, 
who assured him that his prayer was heard, and 
that his wife, though she was called barren, should 
conceive, and bear him a son ; adding, thou shalt 
call his name John, and he shall be great before 
God. John signifies one full of grace. St. John 
the Baptist was chosen by God to be the herald and 
harbinger of the world’s Redeemer; the voice to 
proclaim to men the eternal word; the morning 
star to usher in the Sun of justice and the light of 
the world. It was therefore becoming that he 
should be adorned with all virtues in an eminent 
degree. An early piety and an innocence never 
defiled with any stain of sin, is a very precious 
gift of God. Therefore the angel ordered that 
this child who was to be a wonder of Divine Grace, 
should be consecrated to God from his very birth, 
as an exterior mark of his holy destination; and 
enjoined that he should never touch wine or any 
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Bible Studies 

other intoxicating liquor. The angel added, that 
he was holy and filled with extraordinary graces 
by the Holy Ghost, even before his birth. That 
the miracle of his birth might be more evident, 
Elizabeth was at the time advanced in years, and 
according to the course of nature, past child-bear- 
ing. God had so ordained it that this saint might 
be the fruit of long and earnest prayer, the ordin- 
ary channel of His graces. By this circumstance 
parents are admonished, with what care and fer- 
vor they ought to address themselves to God, to 
obtain His blessing upon their off-spring. Zach- 
ary was amazed at what he heard and begged that 
a sign might be given to prove to him the effect 
of these great promises. The angel to grant his 
request, and at the same time to chide him for his 
incredulity, answered, that from that moment he 
should remain dumb till the child was born. 
Elizabeth in the sixth month of her pregnancy, 
was honored with a visit from the Mother of 
God, when at the presence of the world’s Re- 
deemer the Baptist was sanctified in his mother’s 
womb, and by an extraordinary privilege favored 
with the use of reason, though yet unborn, being 
the first among men who knew Christ, and he be- 
held Him before he saw the light with his cor- 
poreal eyes. Hence, it is added, that he leaped for 
joy in his mother’s womb (Luke i, 41). Eliza- 

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St. John The Baptist 

beth, after the term of nine months, brought 
forth her son, who was circumcised on the eighth 
day. On that occasion the rest of the family 
wished to call him by his father's name ; but the 
mother, by divine inspiration, said his name should 
be John. The father confirmed the same in writ- 
ing, and immediately recovering his speech, 
broke forth into the most tender expressions of 
love and gratitude to Almighty God for His 
wonderful mercy to himself, as well as to all na- 
tions by their redemption and happy deliverance 
from the shades of death. In the like fervent dispo- 
sitions ought we this day recite with the church 
the inspired canticle of this holy prophet, called 
the Benedictus. St. John the Baptist was inspired 
by the Holy Ghost to retire in his tender years 
into the wilderness. There he devoted himself to 
the exercises of holy prayer, leading a most aus- 
tere and penitential life. His garments were made 
of camel’s hair, girt about him with a leathern 
girdle ; and he allowed himself no other food than 
what he found in the desert, namely, wild honey 
and locusts. These are a kind of large grass- 
hoppers and are used in those countries, when 
prepared, as a simple food by the people. God, 
by revelation, made known to him in the wilder- 
ness his commission as precursor; and the 
faithful minister began to discharge it in the 
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Bible Studies 


desert of Judea itself, where it was sparsely in- 
habited, upon the banks of the Jordan. Clad in 
the weeds of penitence he announced to all men 
their strict obligation of washing away their ini- 
quities with tears of sincere repentance, and pro- 
claimed the Messiah, who was then about to make 
His appearance among men. He was received by 
the people as the true herald of the most high 
God; and his voice was, as it were, a trumpet 
sounding from heaven to summon all men to 
avert the divine judgment. All ranks of people 
listened to him, and among the rest came many 
Pharisees, whose pride and hypocrisy he sharply 
reproved. The very soldiers and publicans, or 
tax gatherers, persons generally hardened in 
habits of immorality, violence and injustice, 
flocked to him. He exhorted all to works of 
charity, and to a reformation of their lives; and 
such as addressed themselves to him in those 
dispositions, he baptized in the river. The Jews 
practiced several religious washings of the body 
as legal purifications : but no baptism before this 
of John had so mysterious a signification. It 
closely represented the manner in which the souls 
of men might be cleansed from sin, to prepare 
themselves for Christas spiritual kingdom; and it 
was an emblem of the interior effects of sincere 
repentance. But it differed entirely from the 
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St. John The Baptist 

great sacrament of baptism soon after instituted 
by Christ; to which it was much inferior in 
virtue and efficacy, and of which it was simply a 
figure. It prepared men to become Christians, 
but did not make them so. When St. John had 
already preached and baptized about six months, 
our Redeemer went from Nazareth, and presented 
Himself among others to be baptized. The Bap- 
tist knew Him by divine revelation, and full of 
awe and respect for His sacred person, at first re- 
fused, but finally acquiesced out of respect and 
love. The Saviour of sinners was pleased to be 
baptized among sinners, not to ^e cleansed Him- 
self, but to sanctify the waters, says St. Ambrose ; 
that is, to give them the virtue of washing away 
the sins of men. St. Augustine and St. Thomas 
think He then instituted the holy sacrament of 
baptism, which He soon after administered 
through His disciples, whom doubtless He had 
first baptized Himself. 

Such was the veneration which the Jews enter- 
tained for the extraordinary sanctity of St. John, 
that several began to look upon him as the Mes- 
sias. But he declared to them that there was One 
ready to appear among them. Who would baptize 
them with the effusion of the Holy Ghost; and 
Who so far exceeded him in power and excellency, 
that he was not worthy to do for Him the lowliest 

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Bible Studies 

office. Yet the Jews sent to him afterwards a 
solemn embassy of priests and Levites from 
Jerusalem, to inquire of him if he were not the 
Christ. He also told these deputies, that he was 
neither Elias, nor a prophet. He was indeed 
Elias in spirit, being the great harbinger of the 
Son of God; and likewise a prophet, and more 
than a prophet. But his humility taught him to 
entertain a more lowly opinion of his own excel- 
lence and dignity. The liberty with which he 
reprehended the incestuous marriage of Herod, 
tetrarch of Galilee and Persia, with Herodias, 
wife of his brother Philip, who was still living, 
cost him his life. For Herod, urged by the wicked 
Herodias, cast him into prison. During his 
confinement he sent two of his disciples to Christ, 
not doubting but that they would be convinced 
of His being the Messias, when they should be 
witness of His wonderful works. St. John had 
now been detained a close prisoner nearly a 
year, when upon the birthday of Herod a grand 
entertainment was prepared for the principal 
nobility of Galilee ; on this occasion Salome, a 
daughter of Herodias by her lawful husband, so 
enchanted Herod with her dancing, that he prom- 
ised upon oath to grant her whatever she should 
ask, though it were half his kingdom. Upon this 
she consulted her wicked mother, who persuaded 

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St. John The Baptist 

her to demand that the head of St. John the 
Baptist should be forthwith brought to her on a 
dish. This was accordingly done; and the un- 
natural Salome was not afraid to receive the 
bloody present into her hands, and deliver it to 
her barbarous mother, who is said to have made 
it her pastime to prick the sacred tongue with a 
bodkin. Thus died the great forerunner of our 
Blessed Saviour, about a year before His sacred 
passion. 

The impious Herod and his accomplices were 
soon punished for their wickedness; lost their 
kingdom, and died in misery and want in a strange 
country. Thus does the divine vengeance usually 
overtake, even in this life, notoriously wicked 
people, still reserving the most dreadful part of 
their chastisement for a future state of eternal 
perdition. 


(IS) 




ST. MATTHEW 



ST. MATTHEW 


S T. MATTHEW is also called Levi, by two 
Evangelists, and both names are of Jewish 
origin; the latter he bore before his con- 
version, the former he seems to have taken after 
it, to show that he had renounced his profession 
and become a new man. He appears to have 
been a Galilean by birth, and his occupation 
was that of a publican, or gatherer of taxes 
for the Romans ; which office was odious and 
hateful to the Jews, because they looked upon 
publicans as enemies to their privilege of na- 
tional freedom which God had given them, 
and as persons defiled by their frequent conver- 
sations and dealings with Pagans. Hence, the 
Jews regarded publicans’ estates and effects as the 
fortunes of notorious thieves, excluded them from 
communion in all religious worship, and shunned 
them in all their social affairs and commerce. The 
Gentiles themselves often speak of publicans as 
exactors, cheats, and public robbers; because, 
having frequent opportunities of oppressing 
others and increasing their own fortunes by ex- 

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Bible Studies 


tortion, few of them resisting the temptation. Not 
that the profession of tax-gatherer is in itself un- 
lawful; it is, in fact, necessary in a state, and 
properly conducted, is perfectly honorable. In- 
deed some eminent examples of sanctity during 
the early Christian centuries were tax-gatherers. 

When Jesus, after having cured a famous par- 
alytic, went out of Capernaum, and was walking 
on the shore of the lake or sea of Genesareth, at- 
tended by a crowd of people. He espied Matthew 
sitting in his custom-house, and he ordered the 
publican to follow Him. Matthew was rich, and 
withal a prudent man, and he perfectly understood 
what his compliance would cost him — what an ex- 
change of wealth he would be obliged to make for 
poverty. Notwithstanding this he left all his in- 
terests and relations to become a disciple of our 
Lord, and to engage henceforth in a spiritual 
kind of commerce. We cannot suppose that be- 
fore this time Matthew was wholly unacquainted 
with our Saviour’s person or doctrine, especially 
as his custom-house was near Capernaum and his 
dwelling seems to have been in that city ; in which 
Christ had resided for a considerable length of 
time and had preached and wrought many mira- 
cles. He was, therefore, in some measure pre- 
pared to receive the impression which the call of 
Christ made upon him. St. Jerome says that a 
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i 


S t . M a 1 1 h e w 

peculiar heavenly brightness and air of majesty, 
which shone in the countenance of our Divine 
Redeemer, pierced Matthew’s soul, and strongly 
attracted him. But the great cause of his wonder- 
ful conversion was, as St. Bede remarks, that “He 
who called him outwardly by His word, at the 
same time moved him inwardly by the invincible 
instinct of His grace.” That same gracious Re- 
deemer often raises His voice in the secret cham- 
bers of our hearts ; but, alas, how willfully we re- 
main deaf to it ! 

St. Matthew, at the first invitation, broke all 
worldly ties; he forsook his riches, his family, 
his business concerns, his pleasures and his pro- 
fession. His conversion was almost perfect, 
and was constant; he looked back no more, but, 
following Christ with fervor, advanced on his 
journey every day with fresh vigor, and perse- 
vered to the end. It is the remark of St. Gregory, 
that those Apostles who left their boats and nets 
to follow Christ, were sometimes afterwards found 
engaged in the same employment from which 
they had been called; but St. Matthew never re- 
turned to the custom-house, because it was a pro- 
fession made dangerous with the temptations of 
avarice, extortion and oppression. Upon his con- 
version, to show that he was not dissatisfied with 
his charge, but rather looked upon it as his great- 

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Bible Studies 


est happiness, he gave an entertainment to our 
Lord and his disciples at his house, inviting also 
his friends — especially those of his late profession, 
hoping, doubtless, that by our Lord’s divine con- 
versations they also might be converted. The 
Pharisees took offense at the conduct of our Lord 
in eating with publicans and sinners. Our Divine 
Saviour told them that He came for the sick, not 
for the sound and healthy, nor even for those who 
fancied themselves so and imagined they stood in 
no need of a physician; and He reminded them 
that God prefers acts of mercy and charity, es- 
pecially in reclaiming sinners and doing good to 
souls, rather than a pretended strict observance of 
the law, which in them was mere hypocrisy and 
overweening pride. 

The vocation of St. Matthew happened in the 
second year of the public ministry of Christ, who, 
soon after forming the college of His Apostles 
adopted him into the select community of the 
spiritual princes and founders of His Church. 
Eusebius and St. Epiphanius tell us that after our 
Lord’s ascension, St. Matthew preached' for sev- 
eral years in Judea and the neighboring countries, 
till the dispersion of the Apostles, a little time be- 
fore which event he wrote his gospel of our 
Blessed Redeemer, at the entreaty of the Jewish 
converts, and, as St. Epiphanius says, at the com- 

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S t . M a 1 1 h e w 

mand of the other Apostles. That he compiled it 
before their dispersion is manifest, not only be- 
cause it was written before the other gospels, but 
also because St. Bartholomew took a copy of it 
with him into India, and left it there. 

Christ nowhere appears to have given any 
charge to commit to writing His history or Divine 
Doctrine; particular circumstances created the 
occasions : St. Matthew did his writing at the re- 
quest of the converts of Palestine; St. Mark, 
at the earnest entreaties of the faithful of Rome ; 
St. Luke, to oppose false historians ; St. John, at 
the desire of the bishops of Asia, so as to leave an 
authentic document against the heresies of Cerin- 
thus and Ebion. It was, nevertheless, by a spirit- 
ual inspiration of the Holy Ghost, that the work 
was undertaken and executed by each of them. 

The gospels are the most excellent of the sacred 
writings; for in them Christ teaches us, not 
through His prophets, but out of His own divine 
mouth, the great lessons of faith and eternal life ; 
and in the history of His holy life the most perfect 
model of sanctity is set before our eyes for our 
imitation. The Gospel of St. Matthew descends 
to a fuller and more particular detail of the actions 
of Christ than the other three, but from chapter V 
to chapter XIV, he often differs from them in the 
series of his narration, neglecting the order of 

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Bible Studies 


time, that those instructions might be related to- 
gether which have a closer affinity. 

This holy Apostle, after having reaped a plenti- 
ful harvest of souls in Judea, preached the faith to 
the barbarous nations of the East. He was 
much devoted to heavenly contemplation, and led 
an austere life, eating no flesh, but satisfying the 
demands of nature with herbs, roots, seeds and 
berries, as St. Clement of Alexandria assures us. 
(Paedag. I, ii. c. 1.). St. Ambrose says that God 
opened to him the country of the Persians; Ru- 
finus and Socrates tell us that he carried the 
gospel into Ethiopia, meaning probably the south- 
ern and eastern parts of Asia; St. Paulinus in- 
forms us that he ended his course in Parthia ; and 
Venentius Fortunatus says that he suffered mar- 
tyrdom in Nadabia. His relics were brought to 
the West, and are venerated in a church bearing 
his name at Salerno, Italy. 

“Every action and word of our Saviour Jesus 
Christ,” says St. Basil, “is a rule of piety.” Let 
us diligently attend to this rule, and earnestly pray 
that the spirit of Christ and His holy law may be 
our constant study, as it was that of this holy 
Apostle and all of the saints. 


(24) 


ST. MARK 


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ST. MARK 


A S the four evangelists are the witnesses and 
interpreters of revealed religion, we need 
not be surprised to find symbolic represen- 
tations of them introduced into Christian art and 
church architecture from the earliest times. We 
find them grouped as the Four Witnesses or the 
Four Majestic Pillars supporting the Christian 
Church. Again they are found representing a 
more poetic symbolism, as in the Four Rivers 
which have their source in Paradise. 

The exact period when the four mysterious 
creatures mentioned in the vision of Ezekiel, were 
first adopted as symbols of the four evangelists, 
does not seem very clear. The Jewish doctors 
interpreted them as representing the four arch- 
angels, Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel ; and 
at a later period they applied them as emblems of 
the four great prophets, Isaias, Jeremias, Ezekiel 
and Daniel. The early Oriental Christians were 
the first to transfer the emblems of the four 
creatures to the four evangelists. It was St. 
Jerome, in his commentary on Ezekiel, who 


(27) 


Bible Studies 


popularized the symbolic representations of the 
evangelists. St. Matthew was given the cherub 
or human semblance, because he begins his Gospel 
with the human generation of Christ; or, accord- 
ing to others, because in his Gospel the human 
nature of the Saviour is more emphasized than the 
divine. St. Mark has that of the lion, because he 
has set forth the royal dignity of Christ; or, be- 
cause he begins his Gospel narrative with the mis- 
sion of St. John the Baptist, '‘the voice of one cry- 
ing in the wilderness,’^ which is prefigured by the 
lion. St. Luke has the ox, because he has dwelt 
on the priesthood of Christ — the ox being the em- 
blem of the ancient sacrifice. St. John has the 
eagle, which is the symbol of the loftiest inspi- 
ration, because he soared upward to the contem- 
plation of the divine nature of the Saviour. 

I have given these few words of explanation 
because in our Bible Studies we are constantly 
meeting the symbols of the evangelists. We find 
them in the old mosaics, in the decorative sculpture 
of our churches, in the stained glass windows, in * 
the ancient pictures, in ecclesiastical wood carving, 
on the carved and chased covers of the missals and 
prayer-books, — in fact in all forms of art. 

In the forthcoming sketches of the two remain- 
ing Evangelists, this thought will be further de- 
veloped. Sunday-school teachers will find this 
subject beautifully treated by M. Vigoureux. 

(28) 


St. Mark 


II 

St. Mark was of Jewish extraction. The Acts 
of the Apostles say that he was a native of 
Cyrenaica, and St. Bede adds that he was of the 
race of Aaron. He was converted by the Apostles 
after the Resurrection. St. Irenaeus calls him the 
disciple and interpreter of St. Peter, and accord- 
ing to Origen and St. Jerome, he is the same 
Mark whom Peter calls his son. By his office of 
interpreter to St. Peter some have understood that 
St. Mark was the author of the style of St. Peter's 
epistles, and others that on this occasion he was 
employed as a translator into Greek or Latin of 
what the Apostle had written in his own tongue. 
According to Papias and St. Clement of Alex- 
andria, he wrote his gospel at the request of the 
Romans, who, as they relate, desired to have that 
committed to writing which St. Peter had taught 
them by word of mouth. St. Mark accordingly 
wrote down what he had learned, by long 
conversation, from St. Peter ; for it is affirmed by 
some that he never saw our Saviour in the flesh. 
St. Peter, having revised the work, approved it, 
and authorized it to be read in the religious as- 
semblies of the faithful throughout Italy. Hence, 
some attributed this gospel to St. Peter himself. 
Many judge, by comparing the two gospels, that 

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Bible Studies 


St. Mark abridged that of St. Matthew; for he 
relates the same things, and often uses the same 
words; but he adds several particular circum- 
stances, and changes the order of the narration, 
in which he agrees with St. Luke and St. John. 
He relates two events not mentioned by St. Mat- 
thew, namely, that of the widow giving two mites, 
and that of Christas appearance to the two dis- 
ciples going to Emmaus. He wrote his gospel 
in Italy, and apparently before the year of 
Christ 49. 

St. Peter sent his disciples from Rome to found 
other churches. Some moderns say that St. Mark 
founded that of Aquileia. It is certain, at least, 
that he was sent into Egypt, and was by St. Peter 
appointed Bishop of Alexandria, which, after 
Rome, as St. Eusebius, St. Epiphanius, St. Jerome 
and others assure us, was considered the second 
city of the world. St. Peter left Rome and re- 
turned into the East in the ninth year of Claudius, 
and forty-ninth of Christ. About that time St. 
Mark first went into Egypt. He landed at 
Cyrene, in Pentapolis, a part of Lybia bordering 
upon Egypt, and by numerous miracles converted 
many to the true faith; he likewise destroyed 
several temples of the idols. He also carried the 
gospel into many other provinces, into Thebias, 
and various parts of Egypt. This country had 

(30) 


St. Mark 

been heretofore, of all others, the most super- 
stitious ; but the blessing of God promised by the 
prophets was plentifully showered down upon it 
during the ministry of this Apostle. He remained 
twelve years preaching in these parts, and by a 
particular call of God, visited Alexandria, where 
he soon formed a very numerous following, of 
which it is thought the Jewish converts made up 
a considerable part; and it is the opinion of SS. 
Jerome and Eusebius, that these were the Thera- 
peutes described by Philo, the first founders of the 
ascetic life in Egypt. 

The wonderful progress of the new faith in 
Alexandria stirred up the unbelievers against this 
Apostle. Thereupon he left the city, having first 
consecrated St. Anianus, Bishop, in the eighth 
year of Nero, of Christ the sixty-second, and re- 
turned to Pentapolis, where he preached two 
years, and then visited his church of Alexandria, 
which he found increased in faith and grace as 
well as in numbers. He encouraged the faithful, 
and, says the Oriental Chronicle, again withdrew 
to Rome. 

On his return to Alexandria, the heathens call- 
ed him a magician on account of his miracles, and 
resolved upon his death. Accordingly, on the 
pagan feast of the idol Serapis, some persons em- 
ployed to discover the saintly man, found him 

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Bible Studies 


offering to God the holy oblation of the Mass. 
The idolators immediately seized him, bound his 
feet with cords, and dragged him about the streets 
the whole day, staining the stones with his blood, 
and leaving the ground strewn with pieces of his 
flesh ; meanwhile he ceased not to praise and thank 
God for his sufferings. At night he was thrown 
into prison, where God comforted him by two 
visions, as mentioned by St. Bede in his martyr- 
ology. The next day infidels dragged him as be- 
fore, till he expired, on the twenty-fifth day of 
April, in the year of Christ 68, of Nero the four- 
teenth. The Christians gathered up the remains 
of his mangled body and buried them at Bucoles, 
a place near the sea, where, in after years, they 
assembled for prayer. His body was venerated 
there, in a church which was built on the spot 
where he was martyred, in A. D. 310. It was re- 
moved to Venice in A. D. 815. 

The translation of the body of St. Mark to 
Venice was caused by the rapacity of the King of 
Egypt, who, in order to adorn his palace, in Alex- 
andria, plundered the church in which the sainCs 
body was enshrined. Two Venetian sea captains, 
who were then at Alexandria, implored that they 
be allowed to remove the relics of the saint to a 
place of safety, which permission the clergy, fear- 
ful of further desecration, readily granted. The 

(32) 


St. Mark 

sailors placed the relics in a large basket covered 
with herbs and swine’s flesh, which the Mussul- 
mans hold in horror. In this manner they reached 
the vessel. Tradition says that the body was en- 
veloped in the sails and suspended to the main- 
mast to conceal the precious treasure from those 
who might come to clear the vessel at the roads ; 
and at length the Venetians sailed forth from the 
shores, full of joy. They were hardly in the open 
sea before a great storm arose. We are assured 
that St. Mark then appeared to the captain and 
warned him to strike all his sails immediately, 
lest the ship, driven before the wind, should be 
wrecked upon hidden rocks. The ship with its 
treasure arrived at its destination in safety. 

For upwards of a thousand years St. Mark has 
ruled Venice. Perhaps that is why she is still one 
of the most religious- cities in Italy. There prayer 
never ceases ; it continually ascends to the throne 
of Mercy, and the Blessed Sacrament is constant- 
ly exposed in one or the other of the many beau- 
tiful churches that adorn every square, while the 
clergy and laity take their turn in watching and 
praying before the Holy Eucharist night and day. 

Afflictions are the inheritances of the just in 
this life ; and they whom God does not visit with 
tribulations should, at least, impose upon them- 
selves some little privation for the good of their 

( 33 ) 


Bible Studies 


souls. “This is the only path which can conduct 
us, with the holy apostles and martyrs, unto God.” 
(St. Chrysos., T. I, p. 736.) 

The present reigning Pontiff, Pope Pius X, 
trained in this school of piety, is now reminding 
the nations of the earth of their religious duties, 
through the mirror of his own sweet, simple life. 


(34) 




ST. LUKE 


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ST. LUKE 


T here is some ground for the supposi- 
tion that St. Luke was a Physician (Col. 
iv, 14). But the pretty story which 
makes him a painter, and represents him as 
painting the Blessed Virgin Mary is not as 
well supported by the earlier traditions. It 
is of Greek origin, and is universally received 
by the Greek Church, which considers painting a 
religious art, and numbers in its calendar of saints 
a long list of painters, as well as poets, musicians, 
and physicians. A rude drawing of the Virgin 
discovered in the Catacombs, with an inscription 
bearing the name of Luca, confirmed the popular 
belief that St. Luke the Evangelist was a painter. 
Such pictures, which are generally of Greek work- 
manship, and of a very dark complexion, are very 
numerous and are regarded with the greatest 
veneration. It is said that St. Luke always car- 
ried with him two portraits painted by himself, 
one of our Saviour and one of the Blessed Virgin. 
These he exhibited with wonderful effect where- 
ever he preached, and by this means converted 

( 37 ) 


Bible Studies 

many heathens. In the Church o( Santa Maria, 
in Via Lata, at Rome, is a picture of the Virgin 
Mother which has been venerated for ages as the 
work of St. Luke. 

On the strength of this beautiful tradition St. 
Luke has been chosen the patron of painters. 
Academies of art have been placed under his 
particular protection ; their chapels have been 
dedicated to him, and over the altars we see him 
in his charming and pious avocation, that of paint- 
ing portraits of the Blessed Virgin and Holy Child 
for the consolation and edification of the faithful. 

He has been the subject of many an artist. The 
most famous of the pictures on this theme is one 
in the Academy of St. Luke at Rome, ascribed to 
Raphael. St. Luke is represented on his knees, 
painting the Virgin Mother with the Child Jesus 
in her arms, who appears to him out of heaven, 
sustained by clouds. In the background Raphael 
stands looking on. 

The devotional figure of St. Luke, in his charac- 
ter of evangelist, represents him with his Gospel 
and his attendant ox, winged or unwinged. In 
the Orient we see him as evangelist, young and 
beardless, holding a portrait of the Virgin in one 
hand and his Gospel in the other. 

St. Paul, the great Apostle of the Gentiles, is 
the historian of the illustrious evangelist, and his 

(38) 


St. Luke 


own inspired writings are the highest and most 
authentic commendation of his sanctity, and of 
those remarkable qualities of heart and soul 
which are to us a just object of veneration. 

St. Luke was a native of Antioch, the capital of 
Syria. He acquired considerable learning in his 
younger years, which, we are told, he improved 
by his travels through some parts of Greece and 
Egypt. He became particularly well skilled in 
medicine. He seems to have continued the prac- 
tice of medicine after his conversion to the faith, 
and even to the end of his life ; this was a charity 
in keeping with the ministry of the Gospel. St. 
Jerome assures us he was very eminent in his 
profession ; and St. Paul, by calling him his most 
dear physician, seems to indicate that, while exer- 
cising his spiritual functions, he had not set it 
aside. 


II 

St. Luke was a convert to the Christian re- 
ligion, but whether from Paganism or Judaism, 
is uncertain. Many Jews were settled at Antioch, 
chiefly those called Hellenists, who read the Bible 
in the Greek translation of the Septuagint; and 
St. Jerome observes, from St. Luke’s writings, 
that he was more skilled in Greek than in He- 
brew; hence, it is probable he was of the above- 

( 39 ) 


Bible Studies 

mentioned class. Some think he was converted to 
the faith by St. Paul at Antioch; others again, 
with St. Epiphanius, suppose him to have been a 
disciple of our Lord a little before His passion, 
though this evangelist says he wrote his Gospel 
from the narration of those who, from the begin- 
ning, were eye-witnesses and ministers of the 
Word. Be this as it may, he no sooner became 
enlightened by the Holy Ghost, and initiated in 
the school of Christ, than he set himself earnestly 
to learn the spirit of his faith and to practice its 
lessons. The Church says of him: ‘‘He always 
bore in his body the mortification of the cross for 
the honor of the Divine name.” 

He was already proficient in virtue, when he 
became St. Paul’s companion in his travels and 
fellow-laborer in the ministry of the Gospel. It 
was the height of his ambition to share with that 
great apostle in his fatigues, his dangers, and his 
sufferings. In St. Paul’s company he sailed from 
Troas to Macedonia, where they made a short stay 
at Philippi ; then they traveled together through 
all the cities of Greece, in which country the 
spiritual harvest increased daily. St. Paul men- 
tions St. Luke more than once as the companion 
of his travels ; he calls him Luke, the beloved 
physician and his fellow-laborer. Interpreters 
usually take Lucius whom St. Paul calls his kins- 

(40) 


St, Luke 


man, to be Luke, as the same apostle sometimes 
gives a Latin termination to Silas, calling him 
Sylvanus. Many, with Origen, Eusebius, and 
St. Jerome, say that when St. Paul speaks of his 
own Gospel, he means that of St. Luke, though 
the passage may be understood simply the Gospel 
which St. Paul preached. 

SS. Matthew and Mark had written their re- 
spective Gospels before St. Luke wrote his. But 
the evil one, to obscure the truth, stirred up 
several men to circulate false doctrines concerning 
Christ: to overcome which, St. Luke published 
his Gospel. He penned nothing but what he had 
received immediately from eye-witnesses and per- 
sons concerned in the transactions which he has 
left upon record; and wrote under the direction 
and influence of the Holy Ghost, from Whose 
express revelation he received whatever he has 
delivered concerning all divine mysteries, and 
without Whose special assistance and inspiration 
he wrote nothing. St. Luke, in his Gospel, mainly 
insists upon what relates to Christ’s priestly office. 
We have in it a full account of several particulars 
relating to the Annunciation, the visit of the 
Mother of God to St. Elizabeth, and the parable of 
the prodigal son, and many other remarkable 
points not mentioned by the other evangelists. 

About the year 56, St. Paul sent Luke with 

(41) 


Bible Studies 


Titus to Corinth, with this high commendation — 
that his praise in the Gospel resounded through- 
out all the churches (II Cor. viii, i8, 19). 

St. Luke accompanied St. Paul to Rome, 
whither he was sent prisoner from Jerusalem, in 
61. The apostle remained there two years in 
chains ; during which time St. Luke was his 
faithful assistant and attendant. He had the com- 
fort of seeing him at liberty in 63, the year in 
which our evangelist finished his Acts of the 
Apostles. This sacred history he compiled at 
Rome, by divine inspiration, as a sequel to his 
Gospel. It was written to counteract some false 
statements which had been circulated, and in order 
to furnish an authentic account of the wonderful 
works of God, in planting His Church, and of 
some of the miracles by which He confirmed it, 
and which were an invincible proof of the truth of 
Christ’s resurrection, and of the divinity of His 
holy religion. Having in the first twelve chapters 
related the chief transactions of the principal 
apostles — the establishment of the Church begin- 
ning at the date of our Lord’s ascension — he, from 
the thirteenth chapter, almost entirely confines 
himself to the actions and miracles of St. Paul; 
to most of which he had been a party and an eye- 
witness, and concerning which false reports were 
spread. 


(42) 


St. Luke 


After St. Paul’s release from prison, St. Luke 
did not forsake him. That apostle in his last im- 
prisonment at Rome writes, that the rest had all 
left him, and that St. Luke alone was with him 
(Tim. iv, ii). St. Epiphanius says (Haer. 51), 
that after the martyrdom of St. Paul, St. Luke 
preached in Italy, Gaul, Dalmatia and Macedonia. 
Others tell us that he also passed into Egypt and 
preached in Thebias. St. Hippolytus says St. 
Luke was crucified at Alae, in Achaia. The ancient 
African Marty rology of the fifth century gives 
him the titles of evangelist and martyr ; and 
St. Gregory Nazianzen, St. Paulinus, and St. 
Gaudentius of Brescia, assure us that he went to 
God by way of martyrdom. Baronius mentions 
that the head of St. Luke was brought by St. 
Gregory from Constantinople, whither his re- 
mains had been translated in the time of Con- 
stantine the Great, and was preserved in the 
church of St. Andrew at Rome. 

The characteristic virtue of the apostles and 
disciples of our Lord was zeal for the divine glory, 
the first condition of the love of God. And can a 
Christian truly say he loves God, while he is in- 
different with regard to the promoting of His 
honor ? But then it is the first part of his duty to 
pray, that he may himself perfectly attain to the 
happiness of devoting to God all the affections of 
his soul, and all the actions of his life. 

( 43 ) 





















9 


ST. JOHN 


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ST. JOHN 

W E cannot visit a picture gallery at home 
or abroad ; we cannot examine a port- 
folio of the old masters — nor even the 
modern engravings and cuts which pour into 
our studies from every quarter of the artistic 
world, without perceiving that the majority of the 
celebrated productions represent incidents and 
characters taken from the Gospel narratives. 
They have worked themselves into the very life 
of the nations of the earth, and as living souls, 
diffused through the loveliest forms of art, they 
attract thousands to the faith of Jesus Christ. 

All of these artistic emblems rest on the basis 
of truth, though many have assumed forms rep- 
resenting the religious phases of the centuries 
which produced them. They are sometimes 
called legends, but even if they have a trace of the 
legendary in them, are they not to be welcomed a 
thousand times over, in preference to the ancient 
mythologies of the pagan world? 

Yet we daily witness that in many of our pub- 
lic institutions these pagan symbols in art abound 

( 47 ) 


Bible Studies 


to the entire exclusion of our Christian ideals. 
Happily for the future generations, here in our 
beloved country there is a growing appreciation 
of broader principles of criticism as applied to 
the study of Christian art. People see in religious 
pictures to-day more than what appears to the eye. 

In Christian art, St. John is better known than 
the other evangelists, for we have a more distinct 
idea of his personal character. He was at all 
times a constant companion of his Divine Master, 
and at all the memorable events recorded in the 
Gospel, he was present. He witnessed the glory 
of the transfiguration on Mount Tabor; he rested 
his head on the bosom of Jesus at the last supper; 
he stood by the cross during the agony ; he tender- 
ly laid the body of his dear dead Lord in the holy 
sepulchre; he protected our Blessed Lady while 
on earth. 

After the death of the Blessed Virgin, he went 
about Judea preaching the Gospel with St. Peter. 
He then traveled into Asia, where he founded the 
seven churches. During the persecution under 
Domitian, he was sent in chains to Rome, and was 
cast into a caldron of boiling oil “but came out of 
it as out of a refreshing bath.” He was after- 
ward exiled to the Island of Patmos, where he 
wrote the Apocalypse. 

St. Isidore relates that at Rome an attempt was 

(48) 


St. John 


made to poison St. John, but that he drank from 
the poisoned chalice without injury — the venom 
having, by a miracle, issued from the chalice in 
the form of a serpent, while the would-be assassin 
fell dead at his feet. 

There are various versions of this story. When 
the chalice is represented with the consecrated 
host, instead of the serpent, it signifies the insti- 
tution of the Holy Eucharist, for St. John is pre- 
eminently the historian of the Blessed Sacrament. 

He again returned to his church at Ephesus, 
where he wrote his Gospel at the age of ninety. 
All these incidents and many others have been 
treated as subjects of Christian art. 

The personal character of St. John was so at- 
tractive and picturesque, that he became most 
popular during the Christian centuries as a patron 
saint. For this reason devotional pictures of him 
are more numerous than are those of the other 
evangelists. 

He has a threefold representation in art. As 
an evangelist, he is represented among the Greeks 
as an aged man, with white hair and venerable 
flowing beard covering his breast; while among 
the Latins he is pictured as a beardless youth, with 
light curling hair, and eyes gazing upwards in a 
rapture of inspiration. He is sometimes seated 
with pen and book, and sometimes standing, the 

( 49 ) 


Bible Studies 


attendant eagle near him, which frequently holds 
a pen in his beak. 

As an apostle, St. John is represented in the 
prime of life with little or no beard ; curling hair 
of a pale brown, or golden hue, to express the 
delicacy of his nature ; on his countenance an ex- 
pression of sweetness and gentleness. His drap- 
ery is generally red with a blue or green tunic. 
He bears in his hand a chalice from which a ser- 
pent is seen to issue. 

St. John as a prophet, in art, is represented as 
an aged man, with a white flowing beard, seated 
on a rock in a desert island, the eagle at his side 
and the sea in the distance. 

In his three distinct characters he has been rep- 
resented in a great variety of styles by nearly all 
the great Christian artists. Perugino, Raphael, 
Correggio, and Domenichino have left many 
beautiful conceptions of this sublime evangelist, 
beloved disciple, and inspired prophet. 

For a fuller treatment of this subject, I would 
refer my readers to the works of Mrs. Jameson, 
who, though a non-Catholic and trained from 
childhood to look at artistic devotional life among 
Catholics from a narrow and misleading point of 
view, yet, by her generous treatment of this sub- 
ject has done much to remove prejudice, and 
cause the Protestant world to admire the great 
art-works of the ages of faith. 

(SO) 


St. John 


II 

St. John, the Evangelist, who is styled in 
the Gospel the “Beloved Disciple” and by the 
Greeks “The Divine,” was a Galilean, the son 
of Zebedee and Salome, the younger brother 
of St. James the Great, with whom he was 
taught the knack of fishing. Before his com- 
ing to Christ he seems to have been a disciple of 
John the Baptist; and many think him to have 
been that other disciple who, with St. Andrew, 
left the Baptist to follow our Saviour, though 
through modesty he concealed his own name, as 
he has done in other parts of his Gospel. 

He and his brother James were probably called 
to be disciples of our Lord as they were mending 
their nets, soon after Jesus had called Peter and 
Andrew. These two brothers continued for some 
time after to follow their occupation ; but upon 
witnessing the miraculous draught of fishes, they 
left all things and attached themselves more close- 
ly to Jesus. Christ gave them the surname of 
Boanerges, or sons of thunder, to express the 
strength and activity of their faith in preaching 
the word of God, without fearing the power of 
man. 

This epithet has been particularly applied to St. 
John, who was truly a voice of thunder, in pro- 

( 51 ) 


Bible Studies 


claiming aloud the most sublime mysteries of the 
divinity of Qirist. He is said to have been the 
youngest of all the apostles — probably about 
twenty-five years of age when he was called by 
Christ; for he lived seventy years after the suf- 
ferings and death of his Divine Master. 

Piety, wisdom and prudence made him in his 
youth equal to those who had been long exercised 
in the practice and discipline of virtue; and his 
pure and blameless life was admired even by the 
pagans. Our Divine Redeemer had a particular 
affection for him, even above the rest of the 
apostles. The causes of this distinguishing mark 
of affection on the part of his Divine Master were, 
first, as St. Augustine observes, the love which 
this disciple bore Him; secondly, his meekness 
and peaceable disposition, by which he very much 
resembled Christ Himself; thirdly, his virginal 
purity, for St. Augustine tells us (Hon. 124 in 
Joan.), that ''the singular privilege of his chastity 
rendered him worthy of the more particular love 
of Christ, because being chosen by Him a virgin 
he always remained such.’’ St. Jerome hesitates 
not to call all his other privileges and graces the 
recompense of his chastity, especially that with 
which our Lord favored him by recommending in 
His last moments His Virgin Mother to the care 
of this virgin disciple (Lib. I, in Jovin., c. 14). St. 

(52) 


St. John 

Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, St. Epiphanius, and 
other fathers frequently made the same reflection. 
Christ was pleased to choose a virgin for His 
mother, a virgin for His precursor, and a virgin 
for his favorite disciple ; and His Church permits 
only those who live perfectly chaste lives to serve 
Him in His priesthood, because they daily 
touch and offer His virginal flesh on His holy 
altar. In heaven virgins follow the spotless Lamb 
wherever He goes (Apoc. xiv, 4). 

Who, then, can doubt that purity is the most 
cherished virtue of Jesus, who feeds among the 
lilies of this noble virtue? For he who loves 
purity of heart will have the king his friend 
(Prov. xxi, 2). 

Another motive of the preference which Jesus 
gave to this apostle was on account of the inno- 
cence and simplicity of his youth, for such 
virtues have a charm with our Divine Redeemer, 
and are always a guarantee of extraordinary 
graces and blessings. 

St. Chrysostom says that when our Lord was 
taken prisoner and forsaken by the other apostles, 
St. John remained faithful to Him ; and many 
imagined that he was the disciple who, being 
known to the high priest, got Peter admitted by 
the servants into the court of Caiphas. 

He seems to have accompanied Christ througK 

(53) 


Bible Studies 


all His sufferings ; at least he attended Him dur- 
ing His crucifixion, standing near the cross, pro- 
fessing faith in Him, in the midst of dangers, sur- 
rounded by soldiers and sworn enemies. 

Here it was that our Lord declared the con- 
fidence He had in His disciple’s affection and 
fidelity, by recommending to him, with His dying 
words. His most holy mother, the Blessed Virgin 
Mary. Accordingly, St. John took Mary to his 
home, and ever after made her a principal part of 
his care, and treated her with all the love and 
respect of a most dutiful and affectionate son. 

This holy apostle, though full of inexpressible 
grief over the death of his Divine Master, yet left 
not the cross; he saw the side of his beloved 
Saviour opened with a spear; and blood and 
water issuing from the wound; to this miracle 
of love he himself bears testimony. 

After Christ’s ascension, we find St. Peter and 
St. John going up to the temple and miraculously 
healing a poor cripple. These two zealous apos- 
tles were imprisoned, but were released with an 
order to preach Christ no more. This unjust de- 
mand they courageously disregarded, and were 
sent by the college of apostles to confirm the con- 
verts which Philip the Deacon had made in 
Samaria. St. John was again apprehended by the 
Jews, with the rest of the apostles, and they were 

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St. John 


scourged ; but they all went from the council, re- 
joicing that they were considered worthy to suffer 
for the name of Jesus. 

St. John seems to have remained at Jerusalem 
for a long time, though occasionally he preached 
abroad. Parthia is said to have been the principal 
scene of his apostolic labors. St. Augustine some- 
times quotes his first epistle to the Parthians ; and 
by a title then prefixed to it in some copies, it 
seems to have been addressed to the Jews dis- 
persed throughout the provinces of the Parchian 
empire. 

It was probably after the death of the Blessed 
Virgin that St. John visited Lesser Asia, residing 
at Ephesus, the capital of that country. It is cer- 
tain that he was not there in 64, when St. Paul 
left Timothy to be Bishop of that city. St. Ireneus 
tells us that he did not settle there until after the 
deaths of SS. Peter and Paul. St. Timothy con- 
tinued Bishop of Ephesus till his martyrdom in 
97, but all this time the apostolic authority of 
St. John was superior. St. John also preached in 
other parts, and took care of all those churches in 
Asia which, according to St. Jerome (Catal.,c.9), 
he founded and governed. Tertullian adds that 
he appointed bishops all over the country; by 
which we are to understand that he confirmed 
those whom SS. Peter and Paul had established 


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and consecrated others for the many other 
churches which he himself founded. It is not 
improbable that in the course of his long life he 
appointed bishops in charge of all the churches of 
Asia; for while the apostles lived they supplied 
the churches with bishops of their own appoint- 
ment. This was done by the guidance of the Holy 
Ghost and by virtue of their apostolic commission 
to plant the Church. 

St. John in his extreme old age continued to 
visit often the churches of Asia, and sometimes 
took a long journey to receive into the ministry 
a single person, whom the Holy Ghost had pointed 
out to him. This holy apostle, whose character 
was universal meekness and charity towards all 
men, nevertheless could not bear with those who 
wilfully taught false doctrines ; nor would he re- 
main in their company, as we are informed by St. 
Ireneus. 

St. Epiphanius tells us that St. John never ate 
flesh meat, and that his way of living was not 
unlike that of St. James, Bishop of Jerusalem, 
who was remarkable for his austerities and morti- 
fications. 

During the second general persecution of the 
Church, in the year 95, being apprehended by the 
proconsul of Asia, St. John was thrown into a 
caldron of boiling oil, whence he was delivered 


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St. John 


by an evident miracle. On account of this trial 
the title of martyr is given to him by the fathers. 

The idolators were blinded in their fury at this 
new evidence of God’s love, and the tyrant 
Domitian banished St. John to the Isle of Patmos. 
In this retirement the apostle was favored with 
those heavenly visions which he has recorded in 
the canonical book of the Apocalypse. They 
were manifested to him on a Sunday, in the year 
96, Domitian being slain in the same year, and 
all his edicts and public acts being declared void 
by a degree of the senate, St. John returned to 
Ephesus in 97. 

Upon the pressing entreaties of his flock, he 
took upon himself the particular government of 
the Church, in Ephesus, which he held till the 
reign of Trajan. 

The apostle celebrated the Christian pasch on 
the fourteenth day, agreeing as to time with the 
Jewish passover. But he was so far from hold- 
ing the Jewish rites of obligation in the New 
Law, that he condemned that heresy in the 
Nazarites, and also that of Ebion and Cerinthus. 
As his apostolic labors were chiefly among the 
Jews, he judged such a conformity, which was 
then allowable, as helpful to their conversion. 

It is probable that St. John composed his Gos- 
pel at Ephesus about the year of our Lord 98, 

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and when he was himself about ninety- two years 
of age. He also wrote three epistles. 

Charity is the golden thread which runs through 
all his sacred writings, especially in his epistles, 
where he recommends it as the great law of 
Christianity — without which all professions of 
this divine religion are vain and meaningless. He 
made it his rule of life to his dying day. 

St. Jerome relates that, when age and weakness 
rendered him unable to preach or deliver long 
discourses to the people, he caused himself to be 
carried to the assembly of the faithful by his 
disciples, and, seated on the altar platform, he 
addressed these words to his flock : “My dear 
children, love one another.’^ When his auditors, 
wearied with constantly hearing the same thing, 
asked him why he always repeated the same 
words, he replied, “Because it is the precept of the 
Lord ; and if you comply with it you do enough.” 
An answer, says St. Jerome, worthy the great 
St. John, the favorite disciple of Christ, and 
which ought to be engraved in characters of 
gold, or, rather, written in the hearts of every 
Christian. For no one can comply with the pre- 
cept of loving his neighbor in the manner in which 
Christ requires of us, without also loving God 
with his whole heart. 

St. John died in peace at Ephesus, in the third 
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St. John 


year of Trajan, that is, the hundredth of the 
Christian era, or the sixty-sixth from our Lord’s 
crucifixion, and about the ninety-fifth year of his 
age. He was buried on a mountain outside the 
town. The dust of his tomb was carried away 
through devotion, and the shrine became famous 
for its miracles, as St. Augustine, St. Ephrem, and 
St. Gregory of Tours, testify. The twenty-sixth 
of September is consecrated to the memory of this 
holy apostle in the Greek church, but in the Latin 
he is honored on the 27th day of December. 

Without the sincere love of God no one can 
please Him. He that loveth not, knoweth not God ; 
for God is charity or love (I John, iv, 8). Let us 
therefore love God, because God hath first loved 
us (I John iv, 19). This is the first grand 
maxim of the spiritual life which this apostle most 
tenderly inculcates. The second is the sincere 
love of our neighbor. For he that loveth not his 
brother whom he seeth, how can he love God 
whom he seeth not? (I John iv, 20). Our 
Blessed Redeemer, in the excess of His boundless 
charity for all men, imposes this duty upon all; 
and as an infinitely loving Father, He pleads with 
all His children to love one another, even for His 
sake. He who most affectionately loves them all, 
will have them all to be one in Him ; and, there- 
fore, He commands us to bear with each other’s 


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infirmities and to forgive each other all injuries, 
and, as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with 
all men (Heb. xii, 14). This is the Christ-like 
spirit of His law, without which we cannot 
acquire a Christian disposition, nor deserve the 
name of His children — neither can we hope, 
with a peevish, passionate, or unforgiving temper, 
ever to be the heirs of the kingdom of heaven. 


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ST. PETER, PRINCE OF 
THE APOSTLES 





ST. PETER, PRINCE OF THE 
APOSTLES 


T he earliest representations in art of the 
twelve apostles, were purely emblemat- 
ical. They were pictured as twelve 
sheep, with Christ in the midst as the Good 
Shepherd, bearing a lamb in His arms or with 
sheep ranged on either side of Him, as the 
Lamb of God raised on an eminence and crowned 
with a sacred halo. Then, again, we find the 
apostles represented as twelve men, all alike, each 
with a sheep, and Christ in the center, also with 
a sheep. At a later period the twelve are depicted 
as venerable men, bearing scrolls in their hands, 
with their names inscribed thereon. This repre- 
sentation is to be found in many of the ancient 
churches. In the Church of St. Michael, at 
Florence, Italy, the tablets or scrolls which the 
apostles carry in their hands, are inscribed with 
the articles of the Creed. 

It is a tradition that before the apostles dis- 
persed to preach the gospel in all lands, they as- 
sembled to formulate a declaration of faith, which. 


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during the Christian centuries, has been called the 
Apostles’ Creed. The twelve articles are said to 
have been produced in the following order: 

St. Peter: I believe in God the Father Al- 
mighty, the Creator of Heaven and earth; St. 
Andrew : And in Jesus Christ, His only Son our 
Lord ; St. James the greater : Who was conceived 
by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary; 
St. John: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was 
crucified, died and was buried; St. Philip: He 
descended into hell, the third day He arose again 
from the dead; St. James the lesser : He ascended 
into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, 
the Father Almighty ; St. Thomas : From thence 
He shall come to judge the living and the dead ; 
St. Bartholomew : I believe in the Holy Ghost ; 
St. Matthew : the Holy Catholic Church, the com- 
munion of saints ; St. Simon : the forgiveness of 
sins ; St. Matthias : the resurrection of the body ; 
St. Jude: and the life everlasting. Amen. 

At a later period the apostles were distinguished 
by attributing to each some particular emblem 
taken from some circumstance connected with 
his life or death. Thus, taking them in the order 
of the canon of the Mass: St. Peter bears the 
keys ; St. Paul, the sword ; St. Andrew, the trans- 
verse cross; St. James the greater, the pilgrim’s 
staff; St. John, the chalice or eagle; St. Thomas, 

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St. Peter 


the builder’s rule; St. James the lesser, a club; 
St. Philip, a staff or crosier; St. Bartholomew, 
a large knife; St. Matthew, a purse; St. Jude, 
a halberd ; St. Matthias, a lance. The apostles are 
represented in every conceivable form of eccle- 
siastical art and architecture, in mosaic, in sculp- 
ture, in fresco, in ivory and wood carving, and in 
painting. They are grouped in all styles, repre- 
senting the historical, devotional, theological, and 
legendary, but in all these groups, each and every 
apostle has some distinguishing characteristic that 
harmonizes with the scriptural portrait left us by 
the inspired writers. 

As an apostle St. Peter takes the first place in 
Christian art. This superiority has been accorded 
him by Christ Himself, and by the common con- 
sent of nineteen centuries. St. Paul, his com- 
panion, is his equal in faith, in zeal, in sanctity, and 
in all things but authority. They labored together 
for the conversion of the Jews and Gentiles, and 
consequently in works of art they are seldom sepa- 
rated. They are, as a rule, represented on each 
side of the Saviour, or of the Blessed Virgin, or 
of the altar. In church decoration their places are 
next in order after the Evangelists and the 
Prophets. 

St. Peter resembles the ancient Greek type. 
He is represented as a powerful old man, with 

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broad forehead, rather coarse features, an open, 
determined countenance, short gray hair, thick 
beard, rather curly and of a silvery white. In 
some very old pictures he is bald on the top of 
his head and the hair grows thick around in a 
circle, somewhat like the priestly tonsure. There 
is a tradition that the Gentiles shaved the head of 
St. Peter in order to make him an object of de- 
rision, and that this is the origin of the eccle- 
siastical tonsure. In the old mosaics the dress of 
St. Peter is a blue tunic with a yellow drapery 
thrown over it. In the very ancient churches 
he is represented with a scroll or book in his 
hand ; at a later date we find him with a cross in 
one hand and gospel in the other. The keys first 
appear about the fifth century. He is sometimes 
represented with one great key, but generally he 
carries two keys, one of gold, and one of silver — 
one to absolve and the other to bind ; rarely is he 
represented with the third key, expressing do- 
minion over heaven and earth and purgatory. 

The various events in the life of St. Peter have 
been represented in all forms of sacred art, almost 
to infinitude. As the first bishop of the Catholic 
Church, he is pictured seated on a throne, one 
hand raised in the act of benediction, the other 
holding the keys and sometimes a scroll inscribed 
with the text; “Thou art Peter, and on this rock 


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St. Peter 


I will build my church.” In devotional pictures 
St. Peter is accompanied by St. Mark, who was 
his interpreter and companion at Rome. Accord- 
ing to the early traditions the gospel of St. Mark 
was written from the dictation of St. Peter. In 
a beautiful picture by Fra Angelico, St. Peter 
is preaching from a pulpit to a concourse of peo- 
ple, and St. Mark is seated taking down his words. 
Then, we have the calling of Peter and Andrew, 
his brother; they kneel at the Saviour’s feet; 
the fishing boats and Lake Genesareth are in 
the background. Christ walking on the sea, is 
a familiar subject; St. Peter sinking and Christ 
stretching out His hands to save him is considered 
a type of the Christian in danger; the cry of St. 
Peter, ‘'Lord, save me, I perish,” is the cry of the 
soul when beset by dangers. The miraculous 
draught of fishes is another marvel of art. St. 
Peter is represented on his knees looking up into 
the Saviour’s face, with an expression of awe and 
gratitude. 

In all the scenes in the life of our Saviour, like- 
wise after His ascension, in which the apostles are 
assembled, St. Peter is always the most prominent 
figure, as for example: In the Transfiguration, 
the last supper, the washing of the feet, the be- 
trayal of Christ, the denial of Peter, his repent- 
ance, the delivery of the keys to Peter, the divine 

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commission to teach all nations, St. Peter healing 
the lame man at the gate called the beautiful, the 
sick placed in the shadow of Peter while preach- 
ing to the converts, the vision of Peter, Peter 
baptizing the centurion, and Tabitha restored to 
life. 

The number of subjects representing St. Peter 
treated in Christian art would fill a volume. Per- 
haps the most touching of all these pictures is 
the parting of St. Peter and St. Paul as they are 
led to execution. The scene is outside the gates 
of Rome and represents the soldiers dragging 
St. Peter away from his faithful companion, St. 
Paul. The parting look of the two saints and life- 
long companions is full of pathetic expression. 
These few thoughts on St. Peter in art will aid us 
in studying the following sketch. 

II 

St. Peter, the great and glorious prince of the 
apostles, and the most afifectionate lover of his 
Divine Master, before his call to the apostleship, 
was called Simon. St. Epiphanius says, that 
though Peter was younger than his brother 
Andrew, he was made by Christ the chief of all 
the apostles. St. Chrysostom, on the contrary, 
takes him to have been the older brother, and the 
oldest man in the apostolic college. He originally 

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St. Peter 


resided at Bethsaida (John i, 4), a town situated 
in the tribe of Nephthali, in upper Galilee, on the 
banks of the Lake of Genesareth. This town was 
honored with the presence of our Divine Lord 
Who, in the course of His ministry, preached and 
wrought miracles there. However, its inhabit- 
ants were for the most part an ignorant and 
obstinate set of men, and their abuse of the grace 
offered them deserved the dreadful woe which 
Christ pronounced against them. 

Peter and Andrew were religious, docile, and 
humble men in the midst of a perverse and 
worldly-minded people. They were trained in 
the laborious trade of fishing, which probably was 
their father’s calling. From Bethsaida Peter 
removed to Capernaum, where his mother-in- 
law dwelt. This place was equally advantageous 
for fishing, being located on the bank of the 
same lake, adjoining the territory of the tribes of 
Zabulon and Nephthali. Andrew accompanied 
his brother thither, and they still followed their 
trade as before. They lived in the daily expecta- 
tion of a Messias. 

Andrew became a disciple of St. John the 
Baptist; and many of the fathers are of the 
opinion that Peter was also a companion. 
Andrew having heard St. John call Christ the 
Lamb of God, hastened to our Lord and continued 

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with Him the remainder of that day, and according 
to St. Augustine, the following night. By their 
conversation Andrew was thoroughly convinced 
that Jesus was the Christ, the World’s Redeemer; 
and on leaving Him he went and sought out his 
brother Simon, and told him in a transport of 
holy joy, that he had found the Messias. Simon 
believed in Christ before he saw Him ; and being 
impatient to behold Him with his own eyes, and 
to hear the words of eternal life from His own 
lips, he went without delay with his brother to 
Jesus, Who, looking upon him, in order to give a 
proof of His divinity to him, told him not only 
his own but his father’s name. On this occasion 
Jesus gave Simon the name of Cephas, which, in 
the Syro-Chaldaic tongue then used in Judea, 
signifies a rock, and by us is translated into Peter, 
from the Greek word petros of the same meaning. 
Peter and Andrew after having passed some time 
in the company of our Divine Redeemer, took up 
again their former mode of living, yet often re- 
turned to Him to hear His holy instructions. 

Toward the end of the same year, the first of 
Christ’s preaching, Jesus saw Peter and Andrew 
washing their nets on the banks of the lake, and 
going into Peter’s boat to escape the multitude. 
He preached to the people who stood on the shore. 
After this discourse, as a pledge of His good will 

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St, Peter 


toward His entertainer, He bade him cast his nets 
into the sea. Though Peter had toiled all the 
previous night to no purpose, and had drawn his 
boat into harbor, yet in obedience to Christ he 
again launched into the deep water and let down 
his net. Scarcely had he done this when such a 
number of fish was caught by the first draught as 
filled not only his own boat, but also that of James 
and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were fishing 
near by and were invited to come and help to drag 
the net, which was ready to break with the load. 

Upon this occasion Christ bade Peter and 
Andrew to follow Him. They instantly obeyed, 
and with such perfect disposition of heart that 
Peter afterward said to Christ with confidence, 
'‘Behold, O Lord, we have left all things, and 
have followed Thee.” (Matt, xix.) They were 
possessed of little, having only a boat and nets to 
leave; but they renounced all future hopes and 
prospects in the world with a perfect disengage- 
ment of heart, and what was more than all this, 
they also renounced themselves and their own will. 
As a reward, Christ promised them, besides never- 
ending happiness in the world to come, even in 
this life a hundredfold of true joys and spiritual 
blessings. From this time Peter and Andrew 
became constant attendants upon their Divine 
Master. 


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Bible Studies 


After the feast of the Passover, in the year 31, 
Christ chose His twelve apostles, in which sacred 
college the chief place was from the beginning 
assigned to St. Peter. Our Divine Redeemer, 
Who had always honored Peter above the rest of 
the Apostles, about a year before His sacred pas- 
sion, promised to entrust His whole Church to 
his care, and after His resurrection confirmed him 
in that charge (John xxi, 15), having obtained 
from him on the first occasion a strong testimony 
of his faith, and on the second a proof of his great 
love of God and zeal for souls. When certain 
weak disciples deserted Christ, being offended at 
His doctrine concerning the wonderful mystery 
of the Blessed Eucharist, our Saviour asked the 
twelve, “Will you also go away?” St. Peter 
answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou 
hast the words of eternal life.” As upon the 
testimony of Christ’s divine word Peter readily 
assented to the most sublime mysteries, so by the 
most ardent and tender love he was desirous to 
keep continually in Christ’s holy company, and 
never to be separated from Him. In another 
transport of love Peter cried out when he beheld 
the transfiguration of our Redeemer — “Lord, it 
is good for us to be here, ever to be with Thee, 
and have our eyes fixed on the adorable object of 
Thy glory.” When he heard Christ foretell His 

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St. Peter 


barbarous death, his love moved him to plead 
with His Master to protect Himself from those 
sufferings which He was to undergo, for he did 
not then understand the advantages of the cross,' 
nor the’ mystery of our redemption. For this 
outburst of appreciation he was called by Christ, 
Satan, and that reprimand opened his eyes. He 
twice cast himself into the sea to meet Jesus, for 
his heart was touched at the sight of Him, and 
he had not patience to wait till the boat came to 
shore. Once, before the passion, when the 
apostles were crossing the lake, and Jesus came 
to them from the shore, walking on the waves, 
St. Peter obtained permission to walk also upon 
the waters to meet his Divine Master. But a 
sudden fear seizing him, he began to sink. Where- 
upon our Lord gently upbraided him for want of 
faith, and guided him by the hand. (Matt, xiv.) 
St. Peter, at the last supper, when our Blessed 
Saviour offered to wash his feet, cried out in 
surprise, “Lord, dost Thou wash my feet? Thou 
shalt not wash my feet forever.’’ 

Yet this great apostle, so fervent, so humble, 
and so full of love, falls at last into the sin of pre- 
sumption, and by it into the grievous crime of 
denying his Divine Master. His protestations 
that he was ready to die with Him was accom- 
panied with some degree of confidence in his own 

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Bible Studies 


strength, whereas an entire and perfect distrust in 
ourselves is an essential part of all true humility. 
To correct this rising presumption, Christ told 
him, that, before the crowing of the cock, he 
would thrice deny Him. Peter was one of the 
three who were present at the Garden of Geth- 
semane when our Lord, retiring from his apostles 
the distance of a stone’s throw, fell into His 
agony, and sweat blood from every pore of His 
body. Notwithstanding Peter’s fervor in the 
cause of his Divine Master, Christ was obliged 
to reproach him, like his two companions, that 
he was not able to watch with Him one hour, 
when he ought to have been strengthening him- 
self by humble prayer against the assaults of the 
enemy. 

When Judas led the Jews to apprehend Christ, 
St. Peter drew his sword and struck Malchus, 
one of the busiest among the rabble. But he was 
taught by Christ that the arms of His disciples 
should be prayer, patience and humility. Peter 
followed Jesus even when He was in the hands of 
His enemies, but at a distance. He who just be- 
fore thought of dying for his Master, and drew 
his sword to defend Him, was now afraid of 
sharing His disgrace. 

Bad company soon completed the misfortunes 
of this disciple. He mingled with the enemies of 


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St. Peter 


Christ, and thrice denied, with oaths and impre- 
cations, that he ever knew his divine Master. 
After the third denial, Jesus, turning, looked on 
him with an eye of compassion, and touched his 
heart with His divine grace, by which he instantly 
became a perfect penitent. Peter went out and 
gave full vent to a flood of tears, which came 
from a heart broken with contrition. He set no 
bounds to his sorrow, and his cheeks are said to 
have been always furrowed with the streams of 
tears which he continued to shed till the end of 
his life. And as he fell by presumption, he ever 
after, as St. Chrysostom observes, made humil- 
ity the favorite and most distinguishing virtue of 
his life. According -to the opinion of the 
Fathers, and as it appears from Christ’s own 
words (Luke xxii, 32), St. Peter never lost his 
faith, for “Though he had a lie in his mouth, his 
heart was faithful,” as St. Augustine says. From 
his example, we must remember that if we con- 
fide in our own strength we are vanquished even 
without an effort. 

After the resurrection of our Divine Saviour, 
Mary Magdalen and the other devout women 
who went early that first Easter Sunday morning 
to the sepulchre, were ordered by an angel to go 
and inform Peter and the rest that Christ had 
risen. SS. Peter and John immediately hastened 


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to the tomb. To manifest the greatness of His 
mercy to repenting sinners Jesus appeared first 
to Magdalen, and then to St. Peter, before He ap- 
peared to the rest of the apostles; and, after re- 
quiring of Peter a triple testimony of his love, in 
opposition to his three former denials. He gave 
him charge over all the faithful : “Feed my lambs, 
feed my sheep.” Jesus after this foretold to St. 
Peter his martyrdom by the cross and this 
apostle was well pleased to drink the bitter cup 
and make his confession as public as his denial 
had been, that he might make some reparation 
for his former sin. 

When the apostles had spent some time in 
Galilee, they returned to Jerusalem, where, ten 
days before the feast of Pentecost, Christ favored 
them with His last appearance, and commanded 
them to preach baptism and penance, and to con- 
firm their doctrine with miracles. (Mark, xvi, 
15; Luke, xxiv, 44.) 

After our Lord’s ascension into heaven the 
apostles awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit, 
in retirement and prayer. In the meantime, at 
the suggestion of St. Peter, St. Matthias was 
elected into the college of the apostles. After the 
descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles, St. 
Peter delivered a sermon to the Jews, who were 
assembled together, upon this wonderful miracle, 

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St, Peter 


and he converted three thousand. The new con- 
verts received the Holy Spirit; and selling all 
their possessions they gave the price to the 
apostles to be distributed among their poor 
brethren. Such was their humility, simplicity of 
heart, meekness, patience, and even joy in suffer- 
ing, that they seemed on a sudden transformed 
into angels. 

The faith was also propagated by a wonderful 
miracle that took place at this time. St. Peter 
and St. John, going to the temple at three o’clock 
in the afternoon, one of the hours for public 
prayer among the Jews, saw a man who was a 
cripple from his birth, begging alms at the gate 
of the temple which was called the Beautiful, and 
being moved with compassion, St. Peter com- 
manded him, in the name of Jesus, to rise and 
walk. The poor man found himself instantly 
cured, and entered into the temple, exulting and 
praising God. After this miracle, St. Peter 
preached to the people a second time, the effect of 
which was the conversion of five thousand per- 
sons. 

Upon this the priests and Sadducees, moved 
with envy and jealousy, prevailed upon the cap- 
tain of the guard of the temple to come up with 
*a troop of soldiers and conduct the two apostles 
to prison, upon pretense of sedition. Next morn- 

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ing they were summoned before the great court 
of the Sanhedrim, in which Annas, Caiaphas, 
John, and Alexander were their principal prose- 
cutors. Here St. Peter declared that it was in 
the name of Jesus, in which all men must be 
saved, that the cripple had been made sound. 
The judges, not being able to refute or disprove 
the evidence of the miracle, contented themselves 
with giving the apostles a severe reprimand, and 
ordered them not to preach any more in the name 
of Jesus. But to their threats St. Peter resolutely 
replied, “Whether it be just to obey you rather 
than God, be you yourselves the judges.^’ 

The two apostles, being discharged, returned 
to the other disciples ; and, after they had prayed 
together, the house was shaken by a miraculous 
sign of the divine protection ; and the whole com- 
pany found themselves replenished with a new 
spirit of fervor and courage. 

But neither miracles, nor the company and ex- 
amples of saints, could extinguish the passion of 
avarice in the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira. 
Being rich they pretended to vie with the most 
charitable, and sold their estate; but while they 
pretended to donate the whole sum received to 
public use, they secretly retained a part for them- 
selves. St. Peter, to whom God revealed this 
hypocrisy, reproached them separately, that they 


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St, Peter 

had put a foul blot upon their own souls by telling 
a lie to the Holy Ghost, in the person of His 
ministers. At this severe reprimand, first the 
husband and afterwards the wife, fell dead at 
his feet. 

The apostles confirmed their doctrine with 
many miracles, curing the sick and casting out 
devils. The people laid their sick on beds in the 
streets, that when Peter came his shadow at 
least, might fall upon them, and they might be 
delivered from their infirmities. 

The high priest Caiaphas and the other heads 
of the Sanhedrin caused the apostles to be again 
taken into custody. But God sent His angel in 
the night, who, opening the doors of the prison, 
set them at liberty. Early the next morning they 
appeared again preaching publicly in the temple. 
They were again taken up and examined, and 
made no other defence but that they ought to 
obey God rather than men. The high priest and 
his faction deliberated by what means they might 
put them to death. But Gamaliel, a famous doc- 
tor of the law, advised them to wait the issue, 
and consider whether this doctrine, confirmed 
by miracles, came not from God, against whom 
their power would be in vain. However, they 
condemned the servants of God to be scourged. 
The apostles thought themselves happy in bear- 

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ing a part in the ignominy and sufferings of the 
cross. 

After the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the dis- 
ciples dispersed into different provinces and 
preached the faith wherever they went, so that 
this dispersion, instead of extinguishing the holy 
fire, spread it all the more. The apostles them- 
selves still remained at Jerusalem to encourage 
the converts. St. Peter and St. John went thence 
to Samaria to confirm the Samaritan converts 
whom St. Philip had won over to the faith. In 
the meanwhile the persecution ceased at Jeru- 
salem, upon the conversion of St. Paul ; and St. 
Peter journeyed through the adjacent country to 
visit the faithful. At Joppa, moved by the tears 
of the poor, he raised to life the virtuous and 
charitable widow Tabitha. During his stay in 
this place he was ordered by an angel to go and 
baptize Cornelius, the centurion, a Gentile. Up- 
on that occasion, God manifested to the prince of 
the apostles, both by this order and by a distinct 
vision, the great mystery of the call of the Gen- 
tile world to the faith. It seems to have been 
after this that the apostles went into other coun- 
*^ries to preach the .Gospel. 

In the partition of the nations which they made 
among themselves, “St. Peter was destined to 
carry the Gospel to the capital of the Roman 

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St. Peter 

Empire, and of the world,” says St. Leo. But 
the apostles stopped some time to preach in Syria 
and other countries near Judea before they pro- 
ceeded further ; and St. Peter founded the church 
of Antioch, which was the metropolis not only of 
Syria, but of all the East. St. Jerome, Eusebius 
and others assure us that this was the first see. 
St. Chrysostom says that St. Peter resided there 
a long time ; the common opinion is seven years — 
from the year 36 to 43. During this interval he 
made several excursions to carry the faith into 
other countries. He preached to the Jews dis- 
persed throughout all the East — in Pontus, Gal- 
atia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia Minor — be- 
fore he went to Rome, as Eusebius testifies. He 
announced the faith to the Gentiles, also, as oc- 
casion oflfered, throughout these and other coun- 
tries, as appears from many evidences. 

St. Peter is the only apostle whom the Gospel 
mentions to have been married before his call to 
the apostleship. St. Clement, of Alexandria, St. 
Jerome, and St. Epiphanius expressly affirm that, 
from the call of the twelve to the ministry or the 
commencement of their apostleship, all of them 
embraced a state of strict continency. St. Chrys- 
ostom proposes St. Peter as an illustrious model 
of chastity. So mortified and abstemious was the 
life of this great apostle that, as St. Gregory 

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Nazianzen relates, his diet was only one penny- 
worth a day of an unsavory and bitter kind of 
pulse called lupine; though on certain occasions 
he ate of what was set before him. 

Having planted the faith in many countries, St. 
Peter arrived at length at Rome. Divine Prov- 
idence, which had prepared the Roman Empire 
for the more easy propagation of the Gospel, was 
pleased to fix the citadel of faith in that great 
metropolis. Eusebius, St. Jerome, and the old 
Roman calendar say that St. Peter held the see of 
Rome twenty-five years, though he was often 
absent upon his apostolic labors in other countries. 
Some weak opponents have doubted whether 
Peter ever was at Rome; but they have been 
thoroughly refuted by the most learned divines of 
their own communion. 

St. Peter’s imprisonment at Jerusalem, under 
King Agrippa, probably happened after his first 
journey to Rome. Being miraculously delivered 
by an angel, he traveled through many countries 
of the East, and established in them bishops, as 
St. Augustine assures us. He was at Rome soon 
after, but was banished from that city, together 
with the Jews, in 49. However, they were soon 
allowed to return. 

St. Peter went again into the East, and in the 
year 51 was present at the general council held by 

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St, Peter 


the apostles at Jerusalem, in which he showed 
that the obligation of the Jewish ceremonies was 
not to be forced upon the Gentile converts. His 
determination in this matter was formed by 
the council into a decree. St. Peter while he 
preached in Judea, labored chiefly to convert the 
Jews. These being tenacious of the legal cere- 
monies, the use of them was for some time toler- 
ated in the converts, provided they did not regard 
them as of precept, for this was always con- 
demned as an error in faith, and was called the 
Nazarean heresy. 

St. Peter wrote two canonical, epistles. The 
first is addressed chiefly to the converted Jews, 
though the apostle also speaks to the Gentile con- 
verts. His second epistle was written from Rome 
a little before his death and may be regarded as 
his last will and testament. In it he strongly ex- 
horts the faithful to labor earnestly in the great 
work of their sanctification, and cautions them 
against the snares of heresy. 

We cannot doubt that the prince of the apostles 
preached the Gospel over all of Italy, as Eusebius 
and Rufinus affirm ; and likewise in other prov- 
inces of the West, according to the commission 
which he and the others received to carry the Gos- 
pel over the whole earth. Ireland, among other 
nations, is said to have been visited by him, though 
for this we have only modern authority. 

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St. Peter and St. Paul often fled from persecu- 
tors in times of danger, till, being notified of their 
approaching martyrdom by revelation, they cou- 
rageously went forth to meet it. A little before 
their death Simon Magus came to Rome, and there 
gained a high reputation. The Fathers assure us 
that this famous magician had promised the 
emperor, Nero, that he could fly in the air, borne 
up by his angels, thus pretending to imitate the 
ascension of Christ. Accordingly, he raised him- 
self in the air by his magical power in the presence 
of the emperor. SS. Peter and Paul, seeing the 
delusion, betook themselves to their prayers, upon 
which the impostor fell to the ground, was much 
bruised, and died a few days after in rage and con- 
fusion. According to Suetonius, his blood even 
stained the balcony in which the emperor stood. 

The great progress which the faith made in 
Rome by the miracles and preaching of the apos- 
tles was the cause of the persecution raised by 
Nero against the Church. St. Ambrose tells us 
that the Christians entreated St. Peter to with- 
draw for a while, with which request he reluc- 
tantly complied. But as he was going out of the 
city he met Jesus Christ, and thus accosted Him : 
“Lord, whither art Thou going ?’^ Jesus answered, 
“I am going to Rome to be crucified again.’’ St. 
Peter readily understood this to be meant for 


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St. Peter 


himself, and taking it for a reproof of his coward- 
ice and a token that it was the will of God that he 
should suffer, he returned into the city and was 
thrown into prison with St. Paul. The two apos- 
tles are said to have remained there eight months, 
during which time they converted the captains of 
their guards, with many others. 

St. Peter, after having been scourged, was led 
to execution, together with St. Paul, according to 
an ancient tradition at Rome, though some say he 
suffered a year before St. Paul, but on the same 
day of the month. Having arrived at the place 
of execution he requested of the officers that he 
might be crucified with his head downwards, alleg- 
ing that he was not worthy to suffer in the same 
manner as his Divine Master had done before 
him. They readily granted this extraordinary 
request. St. Peter suffered about the year 67. 

St. Gregory writes that the bodies of the two 
apostles were buried in the Catacombs, two miles 
out of Rome. From those Catacombs, or vaults, 
the body of St. Paul was carried a little farther 
from Rome on the Ostian road and that of St. 
Peter to the Vatican hill. At present their heads 
are kept in silver reliquaries in the Church of St. 
John Lateran. One-half of the body of each 
apostle is deposited in a rich vault in the church 

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Bible Studies 


of St. Paul, outside the wall; the other, in the 
crypt of the great Basilica of St. Peter. 

St. Peter, leaving all things to follow Christ, 
in return received from Him the promise of life 
everlasting, and over and above, in this present 
life, a hundred fold. '‘O ! thrice happy ex- 
change,’^ cries St. Bernard. '‘O ! powerful 
words, which have robbed Egypt of its richest 
furniture ; which have peopled deserts and monas- 
teries with holy men and women, who sanctify 
the earth, and are its purest angels, continually 
occupied in the contemplation and praises of God. 
They have chosen, with Mary, the better part, 
which shall not be taken from them.” This hap- 
piness, however, belongs to all who, in heart and 
affection, abandon all things for Christ, though 
they be rulers of men or engaged by the will of 
God in other walks of life, for, “Blessed are the 
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of hea- 
ven.” 


( 86 ) 


ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF 
THE GENTILES 




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ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE OF THE 
GENTILES 

S T. PAUL, though called to the apostleship 
after the ascension of Jesus Christ, takes 
rank next to St. Peter as one of the chief 
witnesses of the Christian faith. Of all the apos- 
tles he is the most interesting, the most powerful, 
and in Christian art, perhaps the best known to 
us. 

The most ancient figure of St. Paul was 
found painted on the walls of the Cemetery of 
Priscilla near Rome. It belongs to the second 
century and represents St. Paul in the act of 
prayer, with hands outstretched, head crowned 
with the sacred halo, dressed like a traveler 
with feet sandaled, perhaps to indicate his many 
celebrated journeys. Another ancient figure of 
St. Paul was found in the Catacombs of Naples, 
which represents him wearing the dress of a 
Greek philosopher. This figure is prior to the 
fifth century. The introduction of the sword 
as a distinctive attribute, in all probability be- 
longs to the sixth century. When St. Paul is 
leaning on the sword it expresses his martyr- 
dom ; when he holds it aloft it expresses his war- 

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Bible Studies 


fare in the cause of Christ ; when represented with 
two swords, one is the attribute, the other the 
emblem. 

All the great masters of art have treated the 
subject of St. Paul. I shall mention a few of 
them. Raphael made a fine painting of Paul’s 
conversion. He is dressed as a Roman soldier, 
lying on the ground, having been thrown from his 
horse, he looks upward to Christ, who appears in 
the clouds surrounded by holy angels; his at- 
tendants are panic-stricken by the mysterious ac- 
cident. Michael Angelo’s treatment makes Paul 
a noble figure, struck motionless and senseless : 
Christ is coming to his assistance, surrounded by 
a host of angels ; the attendants are flying in all 
directions, while in the background is a company 
of soldiers hastening to the scene. The dramatic 
effect is grand. Another celebrated picture of 
this subject is that of Rubens. Paul, lying on the 
ground, expresses in his attitude a most helpless 
condition. The attendants seem scared ; the iron- 
gray horse snorting and rearing in the distance is 
very picturesque. Rubens excels in depicting the 
effect of physical fear and amazement, but the 
supernatural and scriptural of the subject are 
poorly expressed and the apostle is degraded. 
Cuypt goes a step lower and gives us his Conver- 
sion of St. Paul apparently for the sole purpose 
of introducing horses in striking attitudes. 

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St, Paul 

The martyrdom of St. Paul has been treated in 
a great variety of styles. According to the re- 
ceived traditions, Peter and Paul suffered martyr- 
dom at the same time, but at different places, for 
St. Paul, being by birth a Roman citizen, escaped 
the ignominy of the cross. He was beheaded 
by the sword outside the Ostian gate, about two 
miles from Rome, at a place called the ‘Three 
Fountains.” The story of the death of St. Paul 
says that a certain matron named Plautilla, one 
of the converts of St. Peter, in beholding him on 
his way to martyrdom, besought his blessing. 
The apostle, seeing her great faith, granted her 
request and begged that she would give him 
her veil to bind his eyes during his execution, 
promising to return it to her after his death. The 
attendants laughed at such a promise, but Plau- 
tilla, with woman’s faith and charity, taking off 
her veil, presented it to him. After his martyr- 
dom St. Paul appeared to her and restored the 
veil stained with blood. It is also related that 
when he was decapitated, the severed head made 
three bounds upon the earth and wherever it 
touched the ground a fountain sprang forth. 
These pious traditions are seldom omitted in the 
ancient representations of the martyrdom of St. 
Paul. Giotto has made this the subject of one of 
his masterpieces. It is preserved in the sacristy 

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Bible Studies 

of St. Peter’s. Plautilla is seen in the back- 
ground, receiving the veil from the hands of St. 
Paul. 

The three fountains gushing up beneath the 
severed head of the saint are also represented in 
a great variety of forms in sculpture and painting. 
I remember my first visit to this melancholy spot. 
Here, formerly, stood a splendid monastery, rich 
with the pious offerings of Christendom, but the 
ravages of the scourge of the Campagna have 
made it a desert. Three ancient churches and 
some ruins still exist, and a few pale-faced monks 
wander about the malarial swamp to greet the 
visitors. In winter the approach is through a 
quagmire ; in summer you scarcely dare to breath 
the pestilential atmosphere, and yet there is a 
hallowed beauty about the place that takes posses- 
sion of the fancy. The church, which is called 
St. Paul of the Three Fountains, dates from the 
first centuries of the Christian era. In it are three 
chapels with altars raised over as many fountains. 
The ancient frescoes have perished and the 
modern ones, owing to the dampness, will soon 
disappear. It is a melancholy scene, though the 
recent introduction of the eucalyptus tree has 
made it possible to live there. History has made 
the place sacred. Painters and sculptors of all 
ages have made it memorable. Their works rep- 


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St. Paul 


resenting this tragic subject are very numerous. 

After the martyrdom of St. Paul his body was 
interred between the Ostian Way and the Aqua 
Salvais, and over the sacred spot arose a 
church known as St. Paul Outside the Walls. Its 
rich magnificence leaves the impression on the 
mind of the visitor that the architect had studied 
the heavenly visions of the inspired writer. The 
mosaics of the old church, which was destroyed 
by fire in 1823, represented the life and works of 
St. Paul. Fortunately for the artistic world 
there exists a series of the same subjects in the 
Qiurch of Monreale, near Palermo. The most 
striking of the group is the one representing St. 
Peter and St. Paul becoming reconciled after 
their disagreement at Antioch. It bears this in- 
scription : “Hie Paulus venit Romam et pacem 
facet cum Petro.” In the Vatican Museum is a 
most beautiful Greek picture representing Peter 
and Paul in the act of embracing. 

There is another series by Raphael to be seen 
in the Sistine Chapel. They were executed for 
the grand tapestries and are twelve in number. 
They are striking. Paul, in the island of Melita, 
shaking the viper from his hand, is full of 
dramatic effect; the storm and shipwreck in the 
background, the angry heavens above, the red 
fire-light, the group of astonished mariners and, 

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Bible Studies 


pre-eminent among them, the calm, intellectual 
figure of the apostle shaking the venomous crea- 
ture from his hand, are most picturesque. 

Everybody knows that Thornhill painted the 
scenes in the life of the apostle for the cupola of 
St. Paul’s in London. They are scarcely worthy 
of mention. Hogarth tried his hand at the same 
subject with about the same result. The concep- 
tion of character is vulgar and commonplace. 
These painters were more at home in portraying 
caricature rather than sacred subjects. They 
could not give to their pictures what they did not 
possess themselves — Catholic inspiration. 

The sublimest ideal of embodied eloquence 
that ever was expressed in art is Raphael’s St. 
Paul preaching at Athens. He stands there the 
delegated voice of the true God — the antagonist 
and conqueror of the whole world. Every fea- 
ture, yes, every fold of his drapery speaks. Like- 
wise in Raphael’s famous ^‘St. Cecilia,” which 
represents St. Paul leaning on his sword, every 
feature expresses thought. In the former he is 
the embodiment of authoritative energy, in the 
latter there is a melancholy grandeur in his bear- 
ing. In the one he is the author, in the other the 
philosopher — ^but in both he is the Paul of Tar- 
sus whom we all know and whom we all love. 


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St. Paul 


II. 

The great apostle St. Paul, was of the tribe 
of Benjamin, and at his circumcision received the 
name of Saul. His father was by sect a Pharisee 
and a citizen of Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, and 
honored by Augustus with the freedom of Rome 
on account of its attachment to the cause of 
Caesar. Hence, St. Paul was considered a Ro- 
man, to which privilege great distinction and 
several exemptions were granted by the laws of 
the empire. His parents sent him when very 
young to Jerusalem, where he was educated in 
the strictest observance of the law of Moses, by 
Gamaliel, a learned and noble Jew, and probably 
a member of the Sanhedrin. He embraced the 
sect of the Pharisees — of all others the most op- 
posed in their religious practice to the humility 
of the Gospel. 

It was a rule with the Jews, that all their chil- 
dren should learn with their studies some trade, 
were it but to avoid idleness, and to exercise the 
body as w’ell as the mind. It is therefore prob- 
able that St. Paul learned in his youth the trade 
of making tents, which he exercised even after his 
apostleship. 

By a blind zeal for the Jewish law and tradi- 
tions, he became a blasphemer, a persecutor, and 
the most bitter enemy of Christ (Gal. i, 14). He 

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was one of those who conspired to murder St. 
Stephen ; and by holding the garments of those 
who stoned that holy martyr, he is said by St. 
Augustine to have stoned him himself by the 
hands of all the rest. St. Paul ascribes his con- 
version to the prayers of St. Stephen. '‘If 
Stephen, says he, “had not prayed, the church 
would never have had Paul.” But the time of 
his conversion was not yet come; and he distin- 
guished himself in his hatred of Christianity 
above all the rest of the persecutors of the disci- 
ples of Christ at Jerusalem. In the fury of his 
zeal he applied to the high priest and Sanhedrin 
for a commission to arrest all the Jews at Damas- 
cus who confessed Jesus Christ, and bring them 
bound to Jerusalem, that they might serve as pub- 
lic warning to all others. 

But God was pleased to show forth in Saul 
His patience and mercy, and changed him in the 
very height of his fury into a vessel of election. 
He was almost at the end of his journey towards 
Damascus, when about noon he and his compan- 
ions were on a sudden surrounded by a great 
light from heaven brighter than the sun. (Acts 
ix, 9, etc.) They all saw the light, and being 
struck with amazement fell to the ground. Then 
Saul heard a voice saying: “Saul, Saul, why dost 
thou persecute me?” He answered, “Who art 

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St. Paul 


thou, Lord?” And the Lord said: “I am Jesus 
of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.” Upon 
which, Saul, trembling and quite overcome, cried 
out : “Lord, what wilt thou have me do?” Christ 
bade him arise and proceed on his journey to the 
city, where he should be informed of what He ex- 
pected from him. Our Lord would not instruct 
him directly by Himself, as St. Augustine ob- 
serves, but sent him to the ministry which He 
had established in His church, to be directed in the 
way of salvation. The convert rising from the 
ground found that, though his eyes were open, he 
saw nothing. He was led by the hands into 
Damascus, whither Christ seemed to conduct him 
in triumph, where he remained blind three days 
without eating or drinking. He doubtless spent 
this time in great bitterness of soul, not yet know- 
ing what God required of him. 

There was a Christian of distinction in Damas- 
cus, much respected by the Jews for his irre- 
proachable life and great virtue; his name was 
Ananias. Christ appeared to this holy disciple, 
and commanded him to go to Saul, then in the 
house of Judas at prayer. Ananias trembled at 
the name of Saul. But our Redeemer quieted 
his fears, saying : “Go ; for he is a vessel of elec- 
tion, to carry my name before Gentiles and kings, 
and the children of Israel ; and I will show him 


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how much he will have to suffer for my name.” 
For, tribulation is the real test for all true servants 
of Christ. Saul in the meantime saw in a vision 
a man entering and laying his hands upon him 
restoring his sight Ananias arose, went to Saul, 
and laying his hands upon him said, “Brother 
Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to thee on thy 
journey, hath sent me that thou mayest receive 
thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.” 
Immediately something like scales fell from Saul’s 
eyes, restoring his sight. Ananias arose, went to 
Saul, “The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, 
that thou shouldst know His will, and see the just 
One, and shouldst hear the voice from His mouth, 
and thou shalt be His witness unto all men to 
publish what thou hast seen and heard. Arise 
therefore, be baptised and washed from thy sins, 
invoking the name of the Lord.” Saul then 
arose, was baptized and took some refreshment. 
He remained a few days with the disciples at 
Damascus, and began immediately to preach in 
the synagogues that Jesus was the son of God, to 
the great astonishment of all who heard him. 
These said one to another: “Is this not he who 
persecuted at Jerusalem those who invoked the 
name of Jesus, and who is come hither to carry 
them away prisoners?” Thus a blasphemer and 
a persecutor was made an apostle, and chosen to 

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St. Paul 


be one of the principal instruments of God in the 
conversion of the world. 

After Saul had thus repaired the scandal which 
his violent persecution of the innocent disciples of 
Christ had caused, he retired into Arabia. It is 
not mentioned how long he remained in this re- 
tirement, but returning to Damascus he began 
again to preach the faith, and refuted the Jews 
with wonderful success. That obstinate people 
seeing themselves unable to enter the lists against 
him, laid a plot to take away his life, and pre- 
vailed with the governor of Damascus to promise 
them his co-operation. But the holy convert was 
let down by the brethren in a basket over the wall 
by night. He had then continued three years, 
partly at Damascus and partly in his retirement, 
and took this occasion to pay a visit to St. Peter 
at Jerusalem. St. Barnabas, who knew him, in- 
troduced him to SS. Peter and James, and satis- 
fied them and the Church of the sincerity of his 
conversion; for many of the Christians at first 
shunned his company, fearing some design in 
one who had been their most furious enemy. 
He remained fifteen days at Jerusalem, till his 
ardent zeal armed the fury of the Jews against 
him. The disciples, to rescue him from his ene- 
mies, conducted him to Caesarea, and thence sent 
him by sea to Tarsus, his native city. He re- 

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mained there upwards of three years, and 
preached in the neighboring countries of Cilicia 
and Syria with great success. 

The disciples who had fled from Jerusalem to 
Antioch upon the martyrdom of St. Stephen, dis- 
posed the hearts of many to receive the Gospel. 
St. Barnabas coming thither in the year forty- 
three, suggested to the other disciples that St. 
Paul might be sent for; to which they readily 
agreed. He therefore went to Tarsus and 
brought St. Paul down to Antioch. Such was 
the success of their joint labors there, that the dis- 
ciples at Antioch were the first called Christians. 
In the great famine of the ensuing year, foretold 
by Agabus, the Christians of Antioch sent to 
Jerusalem, by the hands of SS. Paul and Barna- 
bas, a charitable collection for the relief of the 
distressed of that church. After the execution 
of this commission the two saints returned to 
Antioch. 

It seems to have been about this time that St. 
Paul was favored with that extraordinary ecstacy 
in which he was taken up into the third heaven 
and heard and saw mysteries which it was not 
lawful for man to utter (2 Cor. xxi, 4). 

While the faithful and the holy doctors at 
Antioch were gathered together in fasting and 
prayer, (which pious public exercises have always 

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St. Paul 


attended the election of new ministers in the 
Church) the Holy Ghost commanded that Saul 
and Barnabas should be set apart for the special 
office of preaching. On this occasion they were 
raised to the dignity of apostles. Though the 
other apostles lived by the Gospel, St. Paul chose 
not to make use of that liberty, and gained 
his living by making tents. Nevertheless he some- 
times received the voluntary alms of the Chris- 
tians, rather for their sake, than for his own 
(Phil, iv, 15). For as to himself he was prepar- 
ed to live in hunger and in want, as well as in 
abundance ; ever satisfied with his condition 
whatever it might be. 

Taking with him St. Barnabas, in the year 
forty- four, St. Paul traveled from Antioch to 
Salonica, and sailed thence to Cyprus. He 
preached first in the Jewish synagogue at Salamis, 
and afterwards he traveled up and down the 
island till he arrived at Paphos, a large city on 
the other side of the isle, in which resided Sergius 
Paulus, the Roman proconsul. This governor 
was a wise and prudent man but was seduced by 
the magical arts of a Jewish impostor, one Bar- 
Jesus, otherwise called Elymas. The proconsul 
hearing of the reputation of St. Paul desired to 
hear him speak. Elymas opposed the preaching 
of the apostle but was struck with blindness upon 

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Bible Studies 

the spot, so that he could not see the sun. Sergius 
Paulus, at the sight of this miracle, and the ex- 
hortations of St. Paul, was converted, and re- 
ceived the sacrament of baptism. 

Some think that the apostle took the name of 
Paul from the illustrious Roman, and St. Luke 
from this time usually calls him so. 

St. Paul leaving Cyprus went by sea to Perge 
in Pamphylia, and thence to Antioch, the capital 
of Pisidia, where he preached in the synagogues 
on two Sabbath-days. Many were induced by his 
discourses to believe in Christ, but the more obsti- 
nate Jews drove him and Barnabas out of their 
country. They preached next at Iconium with 
great success, and remained there a considerable 
time to instruct both the Jews and the Gentiles, 
who had embraced the faith, till they were forced 
to quit this city also, to escape being stoned by the 
enemies of the truth. After this they visited 
Lystra, Derbe, and other towns and villages in 
that country. At Lystra happened the cure of a 
man who had been lame from his birth, to whom 
St. Paul restored strength and the use of his 
limbs, by bidding him to stand upright on his feet 
in the midst of a public assembly. Upon witness- 
ing this the heathens prepared to offer sacrifice to 
the two apostles, thinking they were gods, and 
were with great difficulty prevented. St Paul 


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St, Paul 


was stoned soon after by the same fickle mob and 
was dragged out of the city for dead ; but by the 
care of the disciples he recovered and returned 
with them into the city. However he departed 
the next day with St. Barnabas to Derbe, where 
they converted great numbers. After an absence 
of about three years, they returned by Lystra, 
Iconium, and other places to Antioch in Syria. 
During the four following years St. Paul preached 
through Syria and Judea ; and that interval seems 
to have been the time in which he carried the Gos- 
pel from Jerusalem into the West as far as Illyri- 
cum (Rom. xv, 19). 

It would be endless to relate all the zealous 
enterprises, journeys, and sufferings of this holy 
apostle for the service of God and the propaga- 
tion of the Gospel. We must beg leave to refer 
our readers to the Acts of the Apostles for a more 
detailed and satisfactory account. St. Paul him- 
self, speaking of his mission, passes over the 
innumerable conversions, miracles, and wonders 
which he wrought, and only mentions his suffer- 
ings, for the cross was his glory. He tells us 
that he had undergone more labors, and suffered 
more frequent imprisonments, and more scourg- 
ings, than any other. He often narrowly escaped 
death from rivers, thieves, and the malice of the 
Jews, and from the treachery of false brethren in 

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towns and deserts. He endured all kinds of 
fatigues, vigils, fastings, hunger and thirst, and 
nakedness. He had been five times publicly 
whipped by the Jews, and thrice beaten with rods 
by the Romans or Gentiles; had thrice suflfered 
shipwreck and had been a day and night in the 
depth of the sea (2 Cor. xi, 23). 

In the year 52 St. Paul wrote from Corinth his 
two epistles for the Thessalonians, which are the 
first of his writings. In 55 he wrote to the Gala- 
tians, and the year after, on the occasion of an 
unhappy schism among the Corinthians, he wrote 
his first epistle to them. The year following he 
sent his second epistle to the Corinthians, whom 
he visited shortly after. St. Augustine is of the 
opinion that he then regulated the rite and manner 
of assisting at the divine mysteries ; particularly 
that the body of our Lord should not be received 
in the evening, and only by persons fasting. From 
Corinth in 58 the apostle wrote to the Romans, 
expressing a great desire to see the faithful of that 
illustrious city. 

On his return to Jerusalem with alms for the 
poor of that church, he tarried a month at Troas. 
Here so great was the ardor of the faithful to 
hear him preach, that they listened from morning 
until midnight without taking any refreshment. 
On this occasion a young man called Eutychus, 

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St. Paul 


quite overcome with sleep, fell to the ground from 
the third story, and was taken up dead. But St. 
Paul immediately restored him to life, and con- 
tinued his instructions until break of day. 

At Jerusalem the apostle distributed the alms 
which he had brought with him ; but had much to 
suffer from the implacable hatred of the Jews 
who, after shamefully abusing him, twice im- 
peached him of sedition. St. Paul, the second 
time, appealed to the governor that he might not 
be abandoned to the rage of malicious persecutors. 
In consequence of this appeal he was delivered to 
a certain centurion to be conducted to Rome. The 
apostle had with him Luke, Aristarchus, and some 
others. During a long and tedious voyage they 
were tossed by a dreadful storm, and for fourteen 
days never saw the sun, moon, nor stars and were 
almost famished for want of food. All but St. 
Paul gave themselves up for lost ; he assured the 
others that they should all escape with their lives, 
but that the vessel would be lost. This happened, 
accordingly, for the vessel running aground was 
dashed to pieces ; the whole company however got 
safe to shore, — some by swimming and others on 
planks. 

The inhabitants of the place (which was the 
Island of Malta) treated the distressed strangers 
with great humanity and built for them large fires 

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to dry their clothes. While St. Paul was busy 
gathering fuel for the fire, a viper, concealed in 
the wood, fastened on his hand, but he shook it 
off into the flames without receiving an injury. 
The people who expected he would soon drop 
dead from the effects of the poison, cried out he 
must be some murderer pursued by divine ven- 
geance. But seeing his miraculous preservation, 
they said he must surely be some god. Here St. 
Paul by his prayers restored to health the govern- 
or’s father, who was sick of fever ; and after him 
many others were also healed of their infirmities. 

The apostle and his company arrived at Rome 
in the year 6i. He was detained there prisoner 
two years ; and then, as no one appeared against 
him, he was set at liberty. During his custody he 
had preached with great fruit to those who re- 
sorted to him, both Jews and Gentiles. Here St. 
Luke ends his history of the acts of the apostles, 
which from the thirteenth chapter is a narrative 
of the travels of St. Paul. The Philippians sent 
Epaphroditus, their bishop, with money to the 
apostle’s relief during his imprisonment; and he 
wrote to them his most tender epistle in 62, in 
which he exhorts them to be on their guard against 
false teachers. The same year he wrote also his 
epistle to the Colossians. It was also in Italy that 
he wrote his epistle to the Hebrews, probably 
about the year 63. 

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St. Paul 


Some time after his release he returned again 
from Rome into the East, so as to keep the promis- 
es he made in the above mentioned epistles. 
There he undertook new voyages, revisited many 
countries, and again suffered from chains, and 
prisons, and torments, and conflicts, and continual 
dangers of death. In this journey he established 
the faith in Crete, and left St. Titus there, as he 
did St. Timothy, at Ephesus. He wrote to St. 
Titus from Greece. Several other voyages he 
made in which he had much to suffer; and no 
distance or fatigue could lessen the ardor of his 
zeal. 

Having a presentiment of his martyrdom, as 
Saints Anthanasius, Augustine, and other fathers 
testify, he went to Rome a second time, about the 
year 65. St. Peter had begun to preach there 
probably sixteen years or more before the arrival 
of St. Paul ; and great numbers, and among these 
many illustrious persons, had been converted to 
the faith, when the tyrant Nero began the first 
general persecution of the Church. The zeal of 
the two apostles was the cause of their imprison- 
ment and martyrdom. St. Chrysostom tells us 
that St. Paul, whilst in prison, converted amongst 
others a cupbearer to the emperor, which enraged 
the tyrant still more against him. 

His confinement must have continued Upwards 

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of a year, for in his second epistle to Timothy he 
desires him to come to Rome before winter. Yet 
he did not suffer before the year following. Be- 
sides this second epistle to Timothy, he wrote one 
to the Ephesians, in which he styles himself the 
prisoner of Jesus Christ, as the most honorable of 
all titles. His martyrdom happened in the year 
67, on the 30th of June, when his sacrifice was 
consummated by the sword. His head is kept in 
the church of St. John Lateran, but his body lies 
with St. Peter’s, half in the Vatican, and half in 
his own beautiful church outside of the walls of 
Rome. His chains are also preserved in Rome, 
and St. Chrysostom, who earnestly desired to 
travel from Antioch to Rome, that he might salute 
them and apply them to his eyes, says “They make 
the devils tremble, and are reverenced by the 
angels.” 

“The day of the death of renowned conquer- 
ors has been forgotten,” says St. Chrysostom, 
“while that of a poor artisan is everywhere ob- 
served with honor.” The same father takes notice, 
that men have a greater respect for the tomb of 
this apostle than they ever had for any living 
prince of the Roman Empire. The palaces of 
kings and princes have nothing so magnificent as 
the churches erected to the memory of St. Peter 
and St. Paul. Hither people flock from all parts 

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St. Paul 


of the world, with wonderful piety and zeal, tc 
implore the help and intercession of these apostles ; 
even emperors, kings and princes, according to 
the remark of St. Augustine, humbly prostrate 
themselves before their tombs.” 


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ST. ANDREW 



ST. ANDREW 


S T. ANDREW is generally distinguished in 
works of art by the oblique cross (X) . The 
devotional pictures in which he figures as an 
apostle, or as patron saint, represent him as a very 
old man with a brotherly resemblance to St. Peter, 
his hair and beard silvery white, long, loose, and 
flowing; he leans upon the cross and holds the 
gospel in his right hand. 

The historical subjects from the life of St. An- 
drew are very few. The Adoration of the Cross 
painted by Sacchi is remarkable for its simplicity 
and fine expression. It contains only three fig- 
ures: St. Andrew, half undraped, with his gray 
hair and beard floating, disheveled, kneels, gaz- 
ing up at the cross with ecstatic devotion. He is 
addressing it in his famous invocation: “Hail, 
precious cross which has been consecrated by the 
body of my Lord.” An executioner stands near 
by. A fierce soldier, impatient of delay, urges the 
apostle on to death. This remarkable picture is 
in the Vatican gallery. St. Andrew Taken Down 
from the Cross, by Ribera, is a very effective pic- 
ture. 

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Bible Studies 

The frescoes in the chapel of St. Andrew, in the 
Church of San Gregorio at Rome, by Guido and 
Domenichino are worthy of note. Guido chose 
for his subject the Adoration of the Cross. The 
scene is supposed to be outside the walls of Patras 
in Achaia. The cross is at a distance in the back- 
ground. St. Andrew, as he approaches, falls 
down in adoration before the instrument of his 
martyrdom, consecrated by the death of his Lord. 
He is accompanied by one soldier on horseback, 
one on foot, and two executioners. A group of 
women and alarmed children in the background 
are admirable for grace and feeling. On the 
opposite wall, Domenichino painted the Flagel- 
lation of St. Andrew. The composition is full 
of life and movement. These pictures are noted 
for their color and expression. The famous 
critic Lauri says: “The personages, if endowed 
with speech, could not say more to the ear than 
they do to the eye.*’ 

However, for power and pathos, none of them 
equals the picture by Murillo, of which the origi- 
nal is in England. St. Andrew is suspended on a 
cross formed of the trunks of trees laid obliquely. 
He is bound with cords, and is undraped except 
by a linen cloth, his silvery hair and beard loosely 
stream in the air, and his aged countenance is 
illuminated with a heavenly joy as he looks up to 

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St. Andrew 

the opening skies, whence two angels of celestial 
beauty descend with a crown and a palm. To the 
right is a group of sympathizing women; on the 
left are the guards and executioners. 

St. Andrew owes much of his popularity in art 
to his being the patron saint of the order of the 
Golden Fleece. When Constantinople was taken 
by the Turks, Philip of Burgundy (1453) ob- 
tained some precious relics of the apostle, and 
later he placed his new order of chivalry under 
the saint’s protection. The members wore as 
their badge the cross of St. Andrew. 

II. 

S T. ANDREW was a native of Bethsaida, a 
town in Galilee, upon the banks of the Lake 
of Gennesaret. He was the son of Jonas, 
a fisherman of the town, and brother of Simon 
Peter, but whether older or younger, the holy 
Scripture does not mention. They afterwards 
lived at Capernaum, where Jesus lodged when 
He reached that city. 

When St. John the Baptist began to preach 
penance in the desert, Andrew gave no small proof 
of his piety and good inclinations, for, not content 
with going to hear the Baptist as others did . he be- 
came his disciple, passed much time in listening to 
his instructions, and studied carefully to put into 

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practice his teachings, and to follow his example. 
However, Andrew often returned home, where 
he continued his occupation as fisherman. He 
was with St. John the Baptist when the latter, see- 
ing Jesus pass by, the day after he had been bap- 
tized, said, pointing to Him : “Behold the Lamb 
of God.” (John i, 36.) Andrew by zeal and 
purity of his intentions and his fidelity to his re- 
ligious duties, deserved the special grace of being 
enlightened so as to comprehend this mysterious 
saying, and without delay he and another disciple 
of the Baptist followed Jesus, and ever after re- 
mained faithful. On this occasion Andrew clear- 
ly learned from our Lord’s own words that He 
was the Messias and Redeemer of the world, and 
he resolved from that moment to follow Him. 
Andrew was the first of our Lord’s disciples. 

Immediately Andrew acquainted his brother 
Simon, that he had found the Saviour of the 
world. Simon, upon his first introduction to 
Jesus, was admitted as a disciple, and received 
from Him the surname of Peter. From this 
time the two brothers became followers of Jesus, 
though not constantly attending Him, as they 
subsequently did, but hearing Him as frequently 
as their occupation would permit. Our Lord, 
in order to prove the truth of His divine doctrine 
by His words, wrought His first miracle at the 


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St. Andrew 


marriage feast of Cana in Galilee, and was pleas- 
ed that these two brothers should be present at 
it with His Blessed Mother. When Jesus went 
to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover He re- 
mained some days in Judea, and baptized in the 
Jordan. Peter and Andrew also baptized by 
His authority and in His authority and in His 
name. After this, having returned to Lower 
Galilee in autumn, and finding one day Peter and 
Andrew fishing in the Lake of Gennesaret, their 
Divine Master called them to the ministry of the 
Gospel, saying, “I will make you fishers of 
men.’’ Whereupon they immediately left their 
nets to follow Him, and never quitted Him after- 
wards. The next year, the Son of God formed 
His apostolic college, in which these two brothers 
are placed at the head of the list of evangelists. 

After Christ’s resurrection, and the descent of 
the Holy Ghost, St. Andrew preached the gospel 
in Scythia, as Origen testifies. Theodoret tells 
us that St. Andrew passed into Greece ; St. 
Gregory Nazianzen mentions particularly 
Epirus, and St. Jerome, Achaia. St. Paulinus 
says that this inspired fisherman, preaching at 
Argos, put all the philosophers there to silence. 
St. Philastrius tells us that the apostle came 
out of Pontus into Greece, and that at the tim'e 
that saint wrote, the people at Sinope were per- 

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Bible Studies 

suaded they had the apostle’s true picture and 
the pulpit in which he preached in that city. The 
Muscovites have long gloried in the belief that St. 
Andrew carried the gospel into their country, as 
far as the mouth of the Borysthenes (now 
Dnieper), and to the mountains where the city of 
Kiew stands, and to the frontiers of Poland. If 
the ancients mean European Scythia, when they 
speak of the field of the apostle’s labors, this au- 
thority is favorable to the claim of the Muscovites. 
The Greeks understand it of Scythia beyond Se- 
bastopolis in Colchis, and perhaps also of the 
European, for they say he planted the faith in 
Thrace, and particularly at Byzantium, now called 
Constantinople. But of this we meet little 
proof in antiquity. 

Several calendars commemorate the feast of the 
chair of St. Andrew at Patras in Achaia. It is 
agreed, that he laid down his life there for Christ. 
St. Paulinus says, that having taken many people 
in the nets of Christ, he confirmed the faith which 
he had preached with his blood, at Patras. St. 
Sophronius, St. Gaudentius, and St. Austin assure 
us that he was crucified. The cross on which he 
suffered was of the oblique form, since called the 
St. Andrew cross ; and it is stated that he was not 
fastened to it with nails, but with cords — a cir- 
cumstance always brought out in the represen- 
tations of his death. 

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St. Andrew 

The body of this apostle was translated from 
Patras to Constantinople in 357, together with 
fhose of St. Luke and St. Timothy, and deposited 
in the Church of the Apostles which Constantine 
the Great had built a little before. St. Paulinus 
and St. Jerome mention miracles wrought on this 
occasion. The relics of St. Andrew, at the taking 
of Constantinople by the Turks, were brought in- 
to Italy, and deposited in the Cathedral of Amalfi. 
The head was presented to Pope Pius II, and is 
now in the private oratory of Pope Pius X. The 
Scots honored St. Andrew as the patron saint of 
their country, and their historians tell us that a 
certain abbot, called Regulus, brought from 
Patras to Scotland, in 369, certain relics of this 
apostle, which were deposited in a Church built 
in his honor, where the City of St. Andrew now 
stands. 

It is related that when the apostle beheld at a 
distance the cross prepared for his martyrdom, 
he cried out: *‘Hail, precious cross, which has 
been consecrated by the body of my Lord. I 
come to thee, exulting with great joy and glad- 
ness. Receive me with joy into thy arms, O 
good cross, which has derived beauty from the 
body of my Redeemer. How ardently have I 
loved thee ; how long have I desired and sought 
thee! At length I have found thee, now wait- 

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Bible Studies 


ing to receive my longing soul. Take and snatch 
me from among men, and present me to my 
Master; that He Who redeemed me on thee may 
receive me at thy hands.” Such 'were the heroic 
sentiments of this blessed disciple ; and such 
ought ours to be 'with regard to the cross of 
Christ. 


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ST. JAMES 



ST. JAMES 


S T. JAMES The Great was nearly related to 
Christ, and with his brother, St. John and 
St. Peter, seems to have been admitted to 
particular favor by our Blessed Lord and to have 
traveled with Him. Furthermore, he was present 
at most of the events recorded in the Holy Gos- 
pels ; he was one of the three who were permitted 
to witness the transfiguration of Christ on Mount 
Tabor, and one of those who slept during the 
agony in the garden. After our Saviour’s assen- 
sion nothing is recorded concerning the saint ex- 
cept the fact that Herod slew him with the sword, 
and thus gave him a martyr’s crown. In the 
ancient traditions he is described as being of a 
jealous and affectionate temperament, easily ex- 
cited to anger; of this we have a particular in- 
stance in his imprecation against the inhospitable 
Samaritans, for which Christ rebuked him, say- 
ing : “You know not of what spirit you are. The 
Son of Man came not to destroy souls but to save 
them (Luke ix, 55). 

Scripture makes little mention of this dis- 
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B i b I ^ Studies 


tinguished apostle, but tradition and the Chris- 
tian legends of the centuries supplied the deficien- 
cy, and so amply, that he, as St. lago or Santiago, 
the military patron of Spain, became one of the 
most renowned saints of Christendom, and one of 
the most popular subjects of Christian art. 

According to the Spanish legends, St. James 
was of noble lineage and our Blessed Lord’s own 
cousin. It is said that, after the ascension, 
James preached the Gospel in Judea ; he then trav- 
eled over much of the world and came at last to 
Spain, where he made but few converts, owing to 
the ignorance and pagan darkness of ihe people. 
One day, as he stood with his followers on the 
banks of the Ebro, the Blessed Virgin, seated on 
a pillar and surrounded by a choir of angels, ap- 
peared to him; the apostle cast himself on his 
knees, and she commanded him to build on that 
spot a chapel, assuring him that all the country 
which was then in the darkness of paganism 
would one day become Christian. He did as the 
Blessed Virgin commanded; and this was the 
origin of the famous church afterwards known as 
the “Church of the Pillar.” 

Then St. James, having established the faith in 
Spain, returned to Judea, where he preached for 
many years and performed many wonders and 
miracles in the sight of the people — the conversion 

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St. James 


of Fhiletus and his master Hermogenes being the 
most astounding. The Jews became more and 
more incensed, and finally took James before 
Herod Agrippa, who ordered him to be executed. 
His followers came and took the body away, car- 
ried it to Jaffa, and placed it on board a ship 
which brought it to Spain. 

There reigned over Spain at that time a queen, 
whose name was Lupa; she and her people were 
buried in the wickedness of idolatry. Having come 
to shore the apostle’s followers placed his remains 
on a great stone, which became like wax and 
closed around the body; this was accepted as a 
sign that the saint willed to remain there. The 
pagan queen, when she heard the news was dis- 
pleased, and ordered her officers to harness wild 
bulls to a car and place on it the body of the apos- 
tle with the self-formed tomb, hoping that they 
would drag it to destruction. But in this she 
was mistaken, for the wild animals, when signed 
with the cross, became as docile as lambs, and 
drew the body of the apostle straight into the 
court of her palace. When Queen Lupa beheld 
this miracle she was confounded, and she and all 
her people became Christians. She built a mag- 
nificent temple to receive the sacred remains. 

During the darkness and misery consequent up- 
on the invasion of the barbarous Moors, the body 


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Bible Studies 


of the apostle was lost, but in the year 800 its rest- 
ing-place was revealed to a holy friar. The body 
of the saint was then transported to Compostella. 
In consequence of the many miracles which were 
wrought at his holy shrine, he was honored not 
merely in Galicia but throughout all Spain. He 
became the patron saint of the Spaniards, and as 
a place of pilgrimage Compostella became re- 
nowned throughout Europe. From all countries 
pilgrims flocked thither, so that there were often 
more than one hundred thousand in a year. The 
military order of St. lago, organized by Don Al- 
fonso for the protection of the pilgrims, became 
one of the greatest and most powerful organiza- 
tions in Europe. 

Many wonderful deeds were wrought by the 
saint in behalf of his chosen people. Spanish 
writers mention many apparitions in which this 
glorious saint descended from heaven, to lead in 
person the armies of the Spaniards against the 
detested Moors. One of these relates that in A. 
D. 939, King Ramirez, having vowed to deliver 
Castile from the shameful tribute imposed by the 
Moors, of one hundred virgins delivered annually, 
collected his troops and defied their monarch, 
Abder-Rahman, to battle : 

“The king called God to witness that, came there 
weal or woe, 


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St. James 

Thenceforth no maiden tribute from out Castile 
should go — 

‘At least I will do battle on God our Saviour’s foe. 
And die beneath my banner before I see it go!’” 

Accordingly he attacked the Moorish host on the 
plain of Albeida, and after a furious battle the 
Christians were defeated and forced to retire. 
Night separated the combatants, and King Ram* 
irez, overpowered with fatigue and sad at heart, 
flung himself upon a couch and slept. In his 
sleep he beheld the apostle St. James, who prom- 
ised to be with him next morning in the field, and 
assured him of victory. The king waking up 
from his glorious vision, sent for his officers and 
chaplains, to whom he related it. The next 
morning, at the head of his army, he recounted it 
to his soldiers, bidding them take courage, for 
they would have heavenly aid. He then ordered 
the trumpets to call to battle. The soldiers, in- 
spired with fresh ardor, rushed to the fight. 
Suddenly St. James was seen mounted on a milk- 
white charger and waving aloft a white banner; 
he led on the Christians, who gained a decisive 
victory, leaving 60,000 Moors dead on the field. 
This was the famous battle of Clavija, and ever 
since that day "Santiago” has been the war-cry 
of the Spanish armies. 

There are many other beautiful legends of St. 


Bible Studies 


James; the Spanish writers in prose and verse 
abound in poetic descriptions of the wonderful 
power of their country’s invincible patron. Not 
only on grand occasions such as the one I have re- 
lated was our saint pleased to exhibit his power, 
but oftentimes he interfered in behalf of the poor 
and oppressed. For a more complete account I 
refer my readers to the Spanish chroniclers of the 
middle ages. Their legends are a thousand times 
more interesting and beneficial than those immoral 
ones which relate the doings of the gods and god- 
esses of pagan mythology. 

Previous to the twelfth century St. James is 
distinguished among the apostles only by his 
place, which is the fourth in the series, the second 
after SS. Peter and Paul. In some instances the 
apostle is portrayed with a family resemblance to 
Girist, being his kinsman : the beard thin, and the 
hair parted and flowing down on each side. But 
from the thirteenth century he has been charac- 
terized as a pilgrim of Compostella ; he carries the 
long staff to which the wallet or gourd of water 
is suspended; the cloak with a long cape, the 
scallop-shell on his shoulder or on his flapped hat. 
When the cape, hat and scallop-shells are omit- 
ted, the staff, borne by him as the first of the 
apostles who departed to fulfill his gospel mission, 
remains his constant attribute, and by this he may 

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St. James 


be recognized in the Madonna pictures. When 
grouped with other saints, St. James is represented 
in two distinct characters : as patron of Spain and 
as conqueror of the Moors. In his pilgrim habit, 
mounted on a white charger and waving his 
magic banner, with white hair and beard stream- 
ing, he tramples over the prostrate infidels. This 
is a subject common to Spanish art schools. The 
figure over the high altar in the cathedral at San- 
tiago is described as being very grand when seen 
in the solemn twilight. 

The most beautiful St. James, as patron saint 
that I have seen, was painted by Andrea del Sarto 
and is in Florence. In it, the holy man wears a 
green tunic and a rich crimson mantle. As the 
picture has often been carried in religious pro- 
cessions it has suffered from the sun and weather. 
St. James seated, holding the book of gospels in 
his left hand and pointing to heaven with his right 
hand, by Guercino, is one of the finest in the 
gallery at Venice. In a side chapel of the Church 
of St. Anthony of Padua is a series of frescoes by 
Avanzi, which is of great beauty and interest. 
The artist followed the pious tradition of the 
Spanish legends in his treatment of the subject 
(A. D. 1376). German, French and Italian 
artists have treated this subject in a great variety 
of styles. These few allusions will aid the stu- 


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Bible Studies 

dent in recognizing St. James in art. They will 
also increase our devotion to this great patron of 
manly Christianity. 

II 

St. James, brother of St. John the Evangel- 
ist, the son of Zebedee and Salome, was called 
the Great, to distinguish him from the other 
apostle of the same name, who was Bishop of 
Jerusalem. He was born about twelve years 
before our Saviour, and was much older than 
his brother St. John. His mother, Salome, was 
sister or cousin-german to the Blessed Virgin. 
He was by birth a Galilean, and by occupation 
a fisherman. 

Jesus, walking by the Lake of Gennesaret, 
saw Peter and Andrew fishing, and bade them 
come after Him, promising to make them 
fishers of men. Proceeding a little further. 
He saw two other brothers, James and John, 
and their father, mending their nets. These 
brothers also He called, and forthwith they 
followed Him. Probably by conversing with St. 
Peter, possibly by other means, they had been 
already convinced that Jesus was the promised 
Messias: so, no sooner did they hear His invita- 
tion, and see the evidences of His divine will, 
than they quitted all things to comply with His 

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St. James 

invitation. They held no consultation, made no 
condition ; their sacrifice was perfect. Like 
Abraham they preferred obedience before all 
earthly considerations, and abandoned what- 
ever they possessed, and all their hopes and pros- 
pects in the world, to become the disciples of 
Jesus. But though they followed Christ, and 
listened to His divine instructions, they from 
time to time returned to their calling, to obtain 
an honest living. However, when they saw the 
prodigious draught of fish which Peter and 
Andrew took at the comUiand of Jesus, they 
were so astonished at this manifestation of His 
power that they at once gave up everything en- 
tirely and henceforth followed Him always. 

In the year 31 Jesus formed the College of 
the Apostles, into which he received St. James 
and his brother St. John. He gave them the 
surname of Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder, 
probably to compliment their great zeal. Christ 
distinguished SS. James, Peter, and John above 
the other apostles. They alone were permitted 
to be spectators of the glory of His transfigura- 
tion, and to attend Him during His agony in 
the garden. 

Nevertheless, the instructions and example 
of the Son of God had not sufficiently enlighten- 
ed the understandings of the two brothers; and 

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their virtue was still imperfect, as appears in 
the following instance : Mary Salome, their 
mother, imagining, according to the notion of 
the worldly Jews, that the Messias was to es- 
tablish a temporal kingdom upon earth, and rely- 
ing on the merit of her sons and their near 
relationship to Christ, begged of Him that they 
might sit, one on His right hand and the other 
on His left, in His kingdom. Christ, who had 
read the secrets of their hearts, instead of an- 
swering the mother, addressed His discourse to 
the sons, and told them that they knew not what 
they asked and that in His kingdom promotions 
were not the reward of ambition, but of hu- 
mility and perseverance in virtue. He, there- 
fore, asked them if they were able to drink the 
chalice of His sufferings. The two apostles, 
understanding the condition He proposed, and 
anxious to suffer, without hesitation answered 
that they were. Our Lord then told them that 
indeed they should suffer, but that, with respect 
to the honors of His kingdom. He could make no 
change in the decrees of His eternal Father; 
those honors were to be conferred in proportion 
to each person’s charity and patience. 

How St. James was employed in preaching 
and promoting the gospel after Christ’s ascen- 
sion, we have no account from the first writers 
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St, James 


of Christianity. It appears that he left Judea 
after the persecution raised on the occasion of St. 
Stephen’s martyrdom, and returned again ten 
years later, when he himself suffered for the 
faith. It is probable that he preached the gospel 
to the twelve tribes of the Jews in their disper- 
sion over the world. That Spain was also the 
theatre of his evangelical labors has always been 
the tradition of the Church, and this is confirmed 
by the writings of many ancient fathers. St. 
Epiphanius says that St. James always lived a 
bachelor, in much temperance and mortification, 
without eating fish or flesh; that his conversa- 
tion was most holy and edifying, and that he 
wore only one coat and a linen cloak. 

St. James was the first among the apostles who 
had the honor to suffer death for the name of 
Christ. Agrippa, the grandson of Herod, had 
been educated at Rome, and by flattering the 
vanity of Caligula had obtained from him the 
tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias, as soon as 
they were vacant. To these dominions Claudius, 
in A. D. 41, added Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 
and all the provinces which had been possessed 
by Herod. Agrippa, wishing to gain the affec- 
tion of the Jews, and knowing their hatred to 
the Christians, began to persecute the latter in 
A. D. 43, and St. James was the first who fell 
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a victim to that cruelty. His accuser, struck 
with the courage and constancy which the apostle 
displayed during his trial, professed himself a 
Christian, and was condemned to be beheaded 
with him. As they were led to execution, he 
begged pardon of the apostle for having been 
accessory to his death. St. James, embracing 
him, said : “Peace be with you,’’ after which they 
were both beheaded together, in A. D. 43, 
about fourteen years after the death of Christ. 
The body of the apostle was interred at Jeru- 
salem, but not long after was conveyed by his 
disciples into Spain, and is now at Compostella, 
one of the most famous pilgrim resorts in the 
world during the middle ages. 

The Church, by the martyrdom of St. James, 
lost in her infancy one of her great supporters ; 
but God was pleased that His name should be 
glorified by so illustrious a testimony, and that 
it should be manifest to all that He Himself 
was the immediate supporter and defender of 
His Church. For when she was deprived of 
her chief members and pastors, she remained 
no less firm than before, and even grew and 
gathered strength from the most violent per- 
secutions. 


(134) 


I 


ST. PHILIP 


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ST. PHILIP 


T he gospel narrative has very little about 
St. Philip. He was born at Bethsaida, 
and was one of the first of those whom 
our Blessed Lord summoned to follow Him. 
After the ascension he traveled into Scythia, 
and preached at Hieropolis in Phrygia, where 
he found the people addicted to the worship of a 
monstrous dragon. Taking compassion on their 
blindness, the apostle, in the name of the cross 
which he held in his hand, commanded the ser- 
pent to disappear, and immediately it glided out 
from beneath the altar, at the same time emitting 
such a horrible stench that many people died. 
Among these was the king’s son, but the apostle 
by divine power restored him to life. The priests 
of the dragon, being incensed against the saint, 
took him and crucified him, and, when he was 
bound on the cross, they stoned him: thus he 
gave up his spirit to God, praying, like his 
Divine Master, for his enemies and tormentors. 

According to the scripture, St. Philip had 
four daughters, who were prophetesses that 

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made many converts to the faith. (Acts x, 9.) 
In the Greek calendar, St. Mariamne, his sister, 
and St. Hermione, his daughter, are commemo- 
rated as martyrs. 

When St. Philip is represented alone as an 
apostle, he is generally depicted as a man in 
the prime of life, with little beard, and with a 
benign countenance as if of a remarkably 
cheerful and affectionate nature. He bears as 
his emblem a cross which varies in form ; some- 
times it is high, in the form of a T, sometimes 
a tall staff with a small Latin cross at the top 
of it. This emblem of St. Philip may have a 
treble significance: it may allude to his martyr- 
dom, or to his conquest over the idols through 
the power of the cross, or, when placed on the 
top of the pilgrim’s staff, it may allude to his 
mission among the barbarians as a preacher of 
the cross of salvation. 

There are very few historical subjects taken 
from this apostle’s life. At Venice there is 
a splendid picture, attributed to Titian, in which 
St. Philip stands before the Saviour. The at- 
titude of Christ is extremely dignified, that of 
Philip, supplicating; the other apostles are seen 
in the background. The subject of this noble 
picture is expressed by the inscription under- 
neath. “Lord, show us the Father, and it is 
(138) 


St. Philip 

enough for us/’ “Philip, he that seeth Me, 
seeth the Father also. I am in the Father and 
the Father in Me.” (St. John xiv, 8, 14.) 

St. Philip exorcising the serpent is another 
subject that has been treated. The scene is in 
the interior of a church, with an altar bearing 
a statue of Mars; a serpent, creeping from be- 
neath the altar, slays the attendants with poison- 
ous and fiery breath. The ancient fresco in the 
chapel at Padua is extrerqely animated. The 
subject is beautifully treated in the Santa Croce 
at Florence, by Fra Filippo Lippi. The whole 
scene is highly efifective and dramatic. 

Another historical subject is the Crucifixion 
of St. Philip. According to the Greek tradi- 
tions he was crucified with his head downwards, 
and he is so represented on the gates of San 
Paolo; in other pictures he is seen crucified in 
the usual manner, and clad in a long red garment 
which descends to his feet. 

In studying the Christian art that recalls the 
memory of this apostle, we must be careful not 
to confound him with St. Philip, the deacon. 
It was Philip the deacon that baptized the 
chamberlain of Queen Candace, and not, as 
sometimes erroneously stated, St. Philip, the 
apostle. The incident of the baptism of the 
Ethiopian has been introduced into several 
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beautiful landscapes, with much picturesque 
effect, by Claude, Salvator Rosa, Cuyp, and 
many others. 

11 . 

St. Philip was called by our Saviour to follow 
Him, the day after He called St. Peter and St. 
Andrew. St. Philip was at that time a married 
man and had several children; but his being in 
the married state hindered him not, as St. 
Chrysostom observes, from meditating contin- 
ually on the law of God, and the prophets. 
Thus his piety disposed him for the discovery 
of the Messias in the person of Jesus Christ; 
in obedience to whose commands he forsook all 
to follow Him, and became thenceforth the in- 
separable companion of His ministry and labors. 

Philip had no sooner discovered the Messias 
than he wished to make his friend and com- 
panion, Nathaniel, a sharer in his happiness, 
saying to him, “We have found Him of whom 
Moses and the prophets did write.’’ Nathan- 
iel was not ready to give his assent to this asser- 
tion of his friend, because the supposed Messias 
was reputed to be of Nazareth. Philip there- 
fore desired him to come himself to Jesus and 
see; not doubting that Nathaniel upon personal 
acquaintance with the Son of God, would be 

(140) 


St. Philip 

convinced. Nathaniel complied ; and Jesus see- 
ing him approach, said within his hearing, “Be- 
hold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no 
guile.” Nathaniel asked the Saviour how He 
came to know him. Jesus replied, “Before 
Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig 
tree, I saw thee.” Nathaniel acknowledged Him 
henceforth as the Son of God and the King of 
^^rael. 

The following year, when our Lord formed 
His college of the Apostles, Philip was appoint- 
ed one of that body; and from several passages 
of the gospel he appears to have been particular- 
ly dear to his Divine Master. Thus when Jesus 
was about to feed five thousand persons who 
had followed Him into the wilderness, for the 
greater evidence of His power and for the trial 
of this apostle’s faith. He proposed to him the 
difficult task of feeding the multitude in that 
desolate place. And a little before our Saviour’s 
passion, certain Gentiles, desirous of seeing 
Christ, made their first advances to Philip, and, 
through him and St. Andrew, obtained that 
favor. 

Our Saviour, in the discourse He made to 
His disciples immediately after His last supper, 
promised them a more clear and perfect knowl- 
edge of His heavenly Father than they had 
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Bible Studies 

hitherto; then St. Philip cried out with a holy 
eagerness and impatience, “Lord show us the 
Father and it is enough for us.’’ Upon these 
words our Saviour took occasion to strengthen 
their belief in His divinity and His perfect 
equality with the Father, saying, “So long a 
time that I have been with you, and have you 
not known Me? If you beheld Me with the 
eyes of faith such as I really am, in seeing M< 
you would see the Father also, because I am in 
the Father, and the Father in Me.” 

After our Lord’s ascension, the gospel was 
to be preached to the whole world by a few 
persons who had been eye-witnesses of His 
miracles, and were enabled by the power of the 
Holy Ghost to confirm their testimony of Him, by 
doing wonderful works themselves. For the 
accomplishment of this great undertaking it was 
necessary that the disciples should quickly dis- 
perse into all parts of the world. Accordingly, 
St. Philip preached the gospel in Phrygia, as 
Theodoret and Eusebius assure us. St. Poly- 
carp, who was not converted till A. D. 8o, en- 
joyed his company for some time; consequently 
St. Philip must have lived to a very advanced 
age. It appears from a passage of Polycrates, 
quoted by Eusebius, that the apostle was bur- 
ied at Hieropolis, in Phrygia, the place of his 
(142) 


St. Philip 

crucifixion, which city was indebted to his 
relics for its preservation by continual miracles, 
as is vouched for by the author of the sermon on 
the twelve apostles, attributed to St. Chrysostom. 
An arm of the saint was brought from Constan- 
tinople to Florence, in 1204, whereof we have 
an authentic history in the Bollandists. His 
body is said to be now in the Church of SS. 
Philip and James at Rome, which was dedicated 
to God under their name 5'6o. 

The Emperor Theodosius, in a vision, re- 
ceived from St. John the Evangelist and St. 
Philip the assurance of victory over the tyrant 
Eugenius, the morning before the battle in 394, 
as Theodoret relates. The Orientals keep St. 
Philipps festival on the 14th of November; the 
Latins on the first of May with St. James’s. 

From St. Philip we must learn particularly 
an ardent love for God and desire to see the 
Father. He asked only this favor, because 
this was his most ardent wish. Do we desire 
to employ the proper means to attain this happy 
disposition? Let us then become, at least in 
affection, citizens of heaven. The pilgrim’s 
soul sees herself a stranger here on earth, and 
discovers nothing in this desert place of her 
banishment but an abyss of vanity and subjects 
of sorrow and of fear. Every object tends to 
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Bible Studies 


increase her affliction and inflame her desire, 
seeming continually to cry to her, Where is 
thy God? 


(144) 


ST. BARTHOLOMEW 


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ST. BARTHOLOMEW 

S T. BARTHOLOMEW is nowhere men- 
tioned in the New Testament except in 
enumerating the apostles. However, 
tradition completes the story of his life. Ac- 
cording to one tradition, he was the son of a 
husbandman, according to another, he was the 
son of Prince Tolmai. After the ascension of 
Christ, this apostle traveled into India, even to 
the confines of the habitable world, carrying with 
him the Gospel of St. Matthew. Returning 
thence, he preached in Cilicia and Armenia ; 
and coming to the city of Abanopolis, in the 
latter country, he was condemned to death as 
a Christian, and he was first flayed, then cruci- 
fied. 

In works of art, St. Bartholomew is not a 
popular theme. In devotional figures he carries 
in one hand the Gospel of St. Matthew; his 
peculiar attribute is a large knife, one of the 
instruments of his martyrdom. The legends 
describe him as having a quantity of strong 
black hair and a bushy grizzled beard, which, 

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Bible Studies 


with his large knife, give him a strange appear- 
ance. The German and Flemish painters have 
followed the traditions literally, while the Italian 
artists have given him a milder and more digni- 
fied appearance. They picture him as a man of 
a cheerful countenance, wearing a purple robe 
and attended by angels. Sometimes he has his 
own skin hanging over his arm, as among the 
saints in Michael Angelo’s Last Judgment, 
where he is holding his skin in one hand and 
grasping the knife in the other. In the famous 
statue of Marco Agrate in the Milan Cathedral, 
he is terrible to behold. It is noted for its 
anatomical precision. The church of Notre 
Dame at Paris has a beautiful picture of the 
saint healing the Princess of Armenia. In the 
early Greek representation on the gates of San 
Paolo he is affixed to a cross, with his hands 
fastened above his head : an executioner with 
a knife in his hand is near by. One of the best 
paintings of the saint is by Agostino Caracci. 
There is a very good copy in the Metropolitan 
Museum, New York City. Ribera has taken 
this apostle as the subject for several of his 
great pictures ; one of them is in the National 
Gallery, London. 


(148) 


St. Bartholomew 

11 . 

The name given to this apostle is not his 
proper one, but signifies the son of Tholomew 
or Tolmai, it being compounded like Barjona 
and Bartimeus. Several interpreters of the 
Holy Scriptures take him to have been the same 
person as Nathaniel, a native of Cana in Galilee, 
one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ, to 
whom he was conducted by St. Philip, and 
whose innocence and simplicity of heart de- 
served to be commemorated by our Blessed 
Redeemer Himself. (John i, 14.) 

St. Bartholomew was chosen by Christ one 
of His twelve apostles, when He formed the 
Sacred College. (Matt, x, 3.) He was a 
witness of our Lord’s principal actions on earth 
and of His glorious resurrection. He was in- 
structed by our Saviour in His divine school. 
The saint is mentioned among the disciples wbo 
met together to unite in devout prayer after 
Christ’s ascension; and, with the rest, he re- 
ceived the Holy Ghost. Having been prepared 
by the example and instructions of our Blessed 
Redeemer, and by humble and fervent prayer, 
he was filled by the Holy Ghost with a heroic 
spirit of humility, mortification, and contempt 
of the world, and with a holy zeal and tender 
charity. Thus, armed and endowed with all 

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virtues in an eminent degree, he and the other 
apostles converted many barbarous nations to 
Qirist, and carried His name to the remotest 
corners of the earth. 

St. Bartholomew, in discharging his apostolic 
duties, penetrated into the farther Indies, as 
Eusebius (i. 5, c. 10) and other ancient writers 
testify. Eusebius also testifies that St. Pantae- 
nus, about the beginning of the third century, 
found there some who still retained a knowledge 
of Christ and showed him a copy of St. 
Matthew’s Gospel in Hebrew, which they as- 
sured him St. Bartholomew had brought into 
these parts when he planted the faith among 
them. This apostle returned again into the 
northwest of Asia and met St. Philip at Hiero- 
polis in Great Phrygia. Thence he traveled into 
Lycaomia, where, Chrysostom affirms, he in- 
structed the people in the Christian faith. But 
we know not even the names of the countries 
in which he preached the Gospel. 

St. Bartholomew’s last journey was into 
Great Armenia, where, preaching to a people 
completely given up to the worship of idols, 
he was crowned with a glorious martyrdom, 
as St. Gregory of Tours assures us. The mod- 
ern Greek historians say that he was condemn- 
ed by the Governor of Abanopolis to be cruci- 
(150) 


St. Bartholomew 

fied. Others affirm that he was flayed alive, 
and afterwards crucified — this double punish- 
ment not only being in use in Egypt but also 
among the Persians. His relics now lie de- 
posited in a porphyry monument under the 
high altar in the famous church of St. Bartholo- 
mew, in the Isle of the Tiber, at Rome. The 
feast of this apostle in ancient Western martyr- 
ologies is marked on the 24th of August, but 
among the Greeks on June nth. 

When we call to mind how many prisons the 
apostles sanctified, how many dangers they 
braved, over how many vast regions they travel- 
ed, and how many nations they brought under 
the yoke of Christ, we are filled with admiration 
and astonishment. But if we wonder at their 
courage, zeal and labors, we have still greater 
reason to wonder and to sorrow at the want of 
zeal shown by ourselves, who do little for the 
spread of God’s kingdom on earth, or even for 
the sanctification of our own souls. It is not 
owing to the want of means or of divine grace, 
but to the want of courage and determination, 
that we are so remiss; that we seek few oppor- 
tunities for the exercise of charity towards our 
neighbor ; that we have but little time for prayer 
and recollection and little relish for the practice 
of fasting and penance. If we examine our- 

(iSi) 


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selves carefully, we shall find that we deceive 
ourselves by vain promises, and that sloth, 
tepidity, and indifference see many obstacles 
which fervor, industry, and determination might 
readily remove. The apostles who suffered so 
much for God, still honestly called themselves 
unprofitable servants, made no account of their 
labors, and were altogether taken up with the 
thoughts of what they owed to Him and how 
infinitely they fell short of the ideal. True love 
exerts itself beyond what seems possible, yet 
counts all it does as nothing. 

The peculiar virtue of the apostles was zeal 
for the Divine glory, the first condition of the 
love of God. And can a Christian truly say he 
loves God when he is indifferent to His honor ^ 
Then it is the first part of his duty to pray, 
that he may himself perfectly attain to the hap- 
piness of devoting to God all the affections of 
his soul and all the actions of his life 


(IS2) 


ST. THOMAS 


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ST. THOMAS 


S T. THOMAS, called Didymtis (the twin), 
takes the seventh place in the apostolic 
school. It appears he was a Galilean, 
and, according to Metaphrastes, he was a fisher- 
man. We find him distinguished among the 
apostles on two occasions. When Jesus was 
going up to Bethany, being then in danger from 
the Jews, Thomas said * “Let us go up that we 
may die with Him.*' (St. John xi, i6, xx, 25.) 
After the resurrection he showed himself un- 
willing to believe in the reappearance of the 
crucified Saviour without ocular demonstration: 
this incident is styled the doubt of Thomas. 
From these two incidents we may form some 
idea of his character ; courageous and affec- 
tionate, but somewhat incredulous. 

After the ascension, St. Thomas traveled in- 
to the East, preaching the gospel in far distant 
countries. There is a tradition that he pene- 
trated as far as India, and that, meeting there 
the three wise men of the East, he baptized 
them; that he founded the Church in that 

(15s) 


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country and suffered martyrdom there. An 
ancient inscription at Meliapore, on the Coro- 
mandel coast, says that St. Thomas was pierced 
with a lance at the foot of a cross which he had 
erected in that city. In 1523 his body was dis- 
covered there and later was transported to Goa. 
In Correggio’s fresco at Parma, St. Thomas 
is surrounded by angels bearing exotic fruits, 
as expressing his ministry in India. 

There are many beautiful poetical legends 
relating to St. Thomas. I will limit myself to 
those which were treated by the great artists 
of the middle ages. When the saint is repre- 
sented as an apostle, alone or with others, he 
carries as his attribute the builder’s rule. The 
origin of this attribute is found in one of the 
most popular legends of the centuries. 

When St. Thomas was at Caesarea our Lord 
appeared to him and said: “The King of the 
Indies, Gondoforus, hath sent his prime minis- 
ter, Albanes, to seek for workmen well versed 
in the science of architecture, who shall build 
for him a palace finer than that of the Emperor 
at Rome. Behold, now, I will send thee to him.” 
And the saint went, and Gondoforus ordered 
him to build a magnificent palace and gave him 
great treasures of gold and silver and precious 
stones for that purpose. The king went into 
(is6) 


St, Thomas 

a distant country and was absent for a number 
of years, and St. Thomas instead of building 
a palace distributed all the treasures intrusted 
to him among the poor and sick of the kingdom. 
When the king returned he was full of wrath, 
and he commanded that St. Thomas should be 
seized and cast into prison, and he meditated 
for him a horrible death. In the meantime, 
the brother of the king died, and the king re- 
solved to erect for him a magnificent tomb; but 
the dead man on the fourth day suddenly arose 
and sat upright and said to the king: “The man 
whom thou wouldst torture is a servant of 
God. Behold, I have been in Paradise, and 
the angels showed me a wondrous palace of 
gold and silver and precious stones, and they 
said, ‘This is the palace that Thomas the archi- 
tect hath built for thy brother. King Gondo- 
forus.' ” When the king heard these words 
he ran to the prison and set free the apostle, 
and Thomas said to him: “Knowest thou not 
that those who would possess heavenly things 
have little care for the things of this earth? 
There are in Heaven rich palaces without num- 
ber which were prepared from the beginning of 
the world for those who purchase their pos- 
session through faith and charity. Thy riches, 
O king, may prepare the way for thee to such 

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Bible Studies 


a palace, but they cannot follow thee thither/' 
There is in this allegory great beauty and 
significance. In the ancient city of Bourges 
I found this beautiful legend painted on the 
window over the high altar of the Cathedral. 
It is also the subject of one of the French 
miracle plays of the fourteenth century. 

The builder’s rule in the hand of St. Thomas 
characterizes him as the spiritual architect, and 
for that reason he has been chosen as the patron 
saint of architects and builders. 

In the historical subjects from the life of St. 
Thomas the first place must be given to the 
Scriptural incident in which he figures as the 
principal person. “The unbelief of Thomas” 
occurs in all the artistic representations of 
Christ, as one of the events of His mission and 
one of the proofs of His resurrection. On the 
ancient gate of San Paolo it is treated with 
great simplicity as a sacred mystery — Christ 
stands on a pedestal surmounted by a cross ; the 
apostles are arranged on each side, and St. 
Thomas, approaching, stretches forth his hand. 
The doubt of Thomas which removed all doubt 
has been treated by all the great schools of art. 
The subject admits of two variations : either 
St. Thomas is placing his hand, in a hesitating 
and timid way, on the wounds of our Blessed 

(IS8) 


St. Thomas 

Lord, or, his doubts having been removed, he is 
gazing upward in adoration and wonder. Of 
the first, one of the finest examples is the well 
known picture of Rubens. The expression in 
the countenance of the apostle, whose hand is 
resting on the side of Christ, is wonderful. 
St. John and St. Peter are in the background. 
In Van Dyck’s great picture, St. Thomas bends 
over to examine the Saviour’s hands. Raphael 
gives the second version — the look of astonished 
conviction in the face of St. Thomas. Nicholas 
Poussin has painted it finely, introducing into 
his great picture twelve figures. Guercino’s 
representations are also celebrated. 

The legend of the Madonna of the Girdle is 
very beautiful. It relates that when our Bless- 
ed Lady was assumed into heaven in the sight 
of the apostles, Thomas was absent, but after 
three days he returned, and, doubting the truth 
of her glorious translation, he desired that her 
tomb should be opened, which was done, and 
to his astonishment it was found empty. Then 
the Virgin, taking pity on his weakness and 
want of faith, threw down to him her girdle, 
that this tangible proof remaining in his pos- 
session might remove all doubts forever from 
his mind. Hence, in many pictures of the As- 
sumption and Coronation of the Blessed Virgin, 

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St. Thomas is seen holding the sacred girdle in 
his hand. An instance of this treatment is 
found in Raphael’s beautiful Coronation in the 
Vatican; and in Correggio’s Assumption Thom- 
as holds the girdle and another apostle kisses 
it. Luca della Robbia has given us a channing 
bas-relief of this mystic subject. The Virgin, 
surrounded by a choir of angels, presents her 
girdle to the apostle. In a beautiful picture by 
Grammacci, the Virgin is seated in the clouds; 
beneath is the empty sepulchre ; on one side 
kneels St. Thomas, who receives with reverence 
the sacred girdle; on the other kneels the Arch- 
angel Michael. In simplicity of arrangement, 
beauty of expression, and harmony of color, 
this picture has never been excelled. The same 
artist has another treatment of the same sub- 
ject, in which St. Thomas receives the girdle 
in the presence of St. John the Baptist, St. 
James Major, St. Lawrence and St. Bartholo- 
mew. This subject has been treated by Paolino 
da Pistoia, by Sogleani, and by Mainardi. 
There is a very fine fresco by the last named in 
the Church of Santa Croce at Florence. 

Pictures representing the martyrdom of St. 
Thomas are numerous. Rubens has followed 
the traditions very carefully; the saint embraces 
his cross, at the foot of which he is about to 

(i6o) 


St. Thomas 

fall, pierced with lances and javelins. Several 
idolatrous priests are in the background. Al- 
bert Diirer, in his beautiful picture of St. Thom- 
as, represents him holding the lance — the in- 
strument of his martyrdom. 

II. 

St. Thomas was a Jew, whose proper name 
was Thauma or Thama, signifying, in Chaldaic, 
a twin. He had the happiness to follow Christ, 
and was made by Him an apostle in the year 
31. After our Lord was risen from the dead. 
He appeared the same day to His disciples, to 
convince them of the truth of His resurrection. 
Thomas, not being with them on that occasion, 
refused to believe their report that Christ was 
truly risen, unless he might see the very prints 
of the nails, and touch the wounds in our 
Saviour’s hands and side. One week from 
that day our merciful Lord, with infinite con- 
descension to His apostle’s weakness, presented 
Himself again when Thomas and the other 
disciples were assembled together, and after the 
usual salution of “Peace be unto you,” He 
turned to Thomas, and bade him look at His 
hands, and put his fingers into the wounds of 
His side, and into the prints of the nails. St. 
Augustine and many others doubt not that the 

(161) 


Bible Studies 

apostle did so, though this is not mentioned by 
the Evangelist. It is observed by the same 
holy doctor and others, that Thomas sinned by 
obstinacy, presumption, and incredulity ; for 
the resurrection of Christ had long been fore- 
told by Moses and the prophets. Nor was it 
reasonable in him to reject the testimony of 
such trustworthy eye-witnesses, and this stub- 
bornness might have betrayed him into infidel- 
ity. But the mercy of our Blessed Redeemer 
not only brought him the grace of repentance, 
but raised him to the summit of perfect charity. 
St. Thomas was no sooner convinced of the 
reality of the resurrection, than, penetrated with 
sorrow, awe, and tender love, he cried out, 
'‘My Lord and my God!” (John xx, 28). 
Nothing is easier than to repeat these words, 
but to pronounce them with a sincere and per- 
fect contrition is a privilege reserved to those 
who are crucified to the world, and in whose 
affections God alone reigns by His pure and 
perfect love. These words St. Thomas spoke 
with an entire faith, and they also expressed 
the ardor of his love for Christ. From this 
apostle’s incredulity Christ mercifully estab- 
lished the strongest evidences of His resurrec- 
tion. Hence, St. Gregory the Great says 
(Horn. 26, in Evang.) : “By this doubting of 

(162) 


St, Thomas 

St. Thomas we are more confirmed in our be- 
lief, than by the belief of the other apostles.” 

After the descent of the Holy Ghost, in the 
distribution made by the twelve apostles, Parthia 
was partially assigned to St. Thomas for his 
province, as we are informed by Origen. 
Having preached with great success in Parthia, 
he did the same among other nations subject 
to this powerful Empire, which dominated all 
the East. Sophronius informs us that the 
saint, by his apostolic labors, established the 
faith among the Medes, Persians, Caramanians, 
Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and other people in these 
parts. The Greeks add the Indians and Ethio- 
pians also, though these appellations were 
sometimes given by the ancients to all the 
Eastern nations. The Indians and Portugese 
tell us that St. Thomas preached to the Brah- 
mans, and to the Indians beyond the great is- 
land Taprobana, which some take to be Ceylon, 
others Sumatra. They add that he suffered 
martyrdom at Meliapore or St. Thomas, on 
the coast of Coromandel, in the peninsula on 
this side of the Ganges, where his body was 
discovered with certain marks showing that he 
was slain by lances. That such was the manner 
of his death is the tradition of all the Eastern 
countries. Eusebius affirms that the apostle 

(163) 


Bible Studies 


died by martyrdom. Theodoret and St. Aster- 
ius of Amasea mention St. Thomas among 
the principal martyrs of the Church. St. 
Gaudentius says that he was slain by the in- 
fidels, and that the miracles which were per- 
formed through him show that he still lives 
with God. The same father and Sophronius 
testify that he died at Calamina, which the 
modern Indians supposed to be Meliapore. 

The apostles were mean and contemptible to 
the eyes of the world, recommended neither by 
birth, friends, riches, learning, nor abilities. 
Yet, without these advantages which men so high- 
ly value, they were chosen by Christ, made His 
friends, replenished with His choicest graces 
and holy charity, and exalted to the dignity 
of spiritual princes of His kingdom, and judges 
of the world. We honor them as the doctors 
of the law of Christ ; after Him, the founda- 
tion-stones of His Church, the twelve gates and 
the twelve precious stones of the heavenly 
Jerusalem. They also challenge our gratitude, 
since by their laborings and sufferings we have 
received the Gospel, 


(164) 


ST. JAMES, THE LESSER 


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ST. JAMES, THE LESSER 


S T. JAMES the Lesser is the ninth apostle. 
He was a near relative of Christ, being 
the son of Mary the wife of Cleophas, 
who was the sister of the Blessed Virgin ; 
hence he is styled the Lord’s brother. He 
was the first Christian bishop of Jerusalem 
and is venerated for his self-denial, his piety, 
his wisdom, and his charity. These character- 
istics shine forth in the beautiful epistle which 
bears his name. Having excited, by the ear- 
nestness of His teachings, the fury of the Scribes 
and Pharisees, they flung him down from a 
terrace of the Temple, and one of the in- 
furiated mob below beat out his brains with 
a fuller’s club. 

In devotional pictures, St. James is repre- 
sented leaning on a club — the instrument of his 
martyrdom. According to tradition, he so 
nearly resembled our Blessed Lord in person — 
in features and deportment — that it was diffi- 
cult to distinguish them apart. The Blessed 
Virgin herself, says tradition, might almost 

(167) 


Bible Studies 


have mistaken one for the other. The close 
resemblance rendered necessary the kissing of 
our Lord by the traitor Judas in order to point 
out his victim to the soldiers. This character- 
istic likeness distinguishes the apostle 'when he 
does not bear his club or staff. He appears 
in all scriptural scenes with this attribute. 

The event of St. James’s martyrdom is 
generally rendered in a literal manner. The 
scene is a court of the Temple with terraces 
and balconies; he is falling or is fallen on the 
ground, and one of the rabble lifts up a club 
to smite him. The chapel of B. Luca Belludi 
at Padua contains a series of beautiful frescoes 
from the life of the saint. They represent (i) 
the council held at Jerusalem, in which he was 
chosen the first bishop of the infant Christian 
Church; (2) our Saviour after His resurrection 
appearing to the saint, who had vowed not to 
eat till he had seen Christ (see St. Jerome in 
Lives of the Apostles, chap. xvi) ; (3) The 
saint thrown from the terrace of the Temple; 
(4) his martyrdom; (5) the miracle wrought 
by him to liberate a prisoner; (6) the saint 
miraculously supplying the wants of a poor 
pilgrim. 


(168) 


St, James, The Lesser 
II. 

This apostle was named James the Less, 
either on account of his having been called later 
to the apostleship than his namesake, or from 
the lowness of his stature, or because of his 
youth. He is also known as James the Just, 
a title given him on account of his eminent 
sanctity. 

James and his brother Jude were called to 
the apostleship in the second year of Christ’s 
preaching, soon after the Pasch, in the year 31. 
He was favored with an extraordinary appari- 
tion of his Divine Master after His resurrection. 
Clement of Alexandria says that Christ being 
risen from the dead communicated the gift 
of science to St. James the Just, John, and 
Peter ; and that they imparted it to other 
apostles. We are told by St. Jerome and 
Epiphanius, that our Lord at His ascension, 
recommended His church at Jerusalem to St. 
James, in consequence whereof the apostles 
before their dispersion constituted him first 
bishop of that city. It was probably for a 
mark of his episcopal authority, and as an en- 
sign of his dignity, that he wore on his head 
a lamina or plate of gold, as is recounted by 
St. Epiphanius. Polverates in Eusebius says 

(169) 


Bible Studies 


St. John wore a similar plate; others relate 
the like of St. Mark. This was probably done 
in imitation of the Jewish High Priest. 

St. James in governing that Church was ex- 
posed to perpetual dangers, and had to under- 
go the most violent persecutions from the fury 
of the people, although his singular virtue pro- 
cured for him the respect and veneration of the 
wiser Jews. As to his sanctity, Eusebius and 
St. Jerome give from Hegesippus the following 
account concerning him : “He was called a 
Virgin and a Nazarite, or one consecrated to 
God. In consequence of this he never shaved, 
never cut his hair, never drank wine or strong 
liquor, neither did he ever use the bath (pos- 
sibly because the bath was then used by many 
in a luxurious way), or wear sandals, or any 
other clothing than one single linen garment. 
By his frequent prostrations in prayer, the skin 
of his knees and of his forehead was hardened 
like a camel’s hoof.” St. Epiphanius says that 
in a great drought, St. James by his prayers 
instantly obtained rain. His eminent holiness 
made even the Jews style him the just man ; 
and Origen observes, that Josephus gives him 
the title. The same reverence for his person 
procured for him the pleasure of entering at 
will into the sanctum or holy place, a part 

(170) 


St. James, The Lesser 

of the Temple where none but the Jewish 
priests were allowed to enter. St. Jerome adds, 
that some of the Jews out of respect strove 
to touch the hem of his garment. 

In the year 51, St. James assisted at the 
council of the apostles, held at Jerusalem, to 
legislate about the observance of circumcision 
and other legal ceremonies of the law of Moses. 
Here, after having confirmed what St. Peter 
taught, he outlined the creed which the apostles 
drew up on that occasion. Being bishop of a 
church that was then constituted of converts from 
Judaism, he tolerated the use of their legal cere- 
monies. 

The apostle is the author of a canonical epistle, 
which he wrote in Greek. It is placed at the 
head of those called Catholic or Universal, be- 
cause addressed not to any one particular church, 
but to the whole body of converted Jews, dis- 
persed throughout the world as then known. It 
was written some time after those of St. Paul to 
the Galatians in the year 55, and to the Romans 
in the year 58. The author^s object in this epistle 
is to refute false teachers, who, misrepresenting 
certain expressions in St. Paul’s writings, pre- 
tended that faith alone was sufficient to justifica- 
tion, without good works ; whereas, without 
these, St. Jerome declares, our faith is dead. He 

C171) 


Bible Studies 

adds excellent precepts on how to lead a holy life, 
and exhorts the faithful not to neglect the sacra- 
ment of extreme unction in time of dangerous 
sickness. 

The Oriental liturgy which bears the name of 
St. James, is mentioned by Proclus, patriarch of 
Constantinople, and by the council in Trullo, and 
is of venerable antiquity. St. Basil, indeed, testi- 
fies that the words of the sacred invocation in 
the consecration of the bread and wine were not 
committed to writing, but learned and preserved 
by tradition down to the fourth century; this 
was done upon a motive of respect and venera- 
tion. The parts of the liturgy were written. 
The learning of St. James in sacred matters is 
highly extolled by St. Clement of Alexandria, 
and St Jerome. 

The Jews, exasperated at the failure of their 
malicious designs against St. Paul, by his appeal 
to Caesar, resolved to revenge themselves on St. 
James. Wherefore Ananias the high priest, son 
of the Annas mentioned in the Gospel, having as- 
sembled the Sanhedrin, or great council, of the 
Jews at Jerusalem, summoned St. James and 
others to appear before it. 

Josephus, the Jewish historian, says that St. 
James was accused of violating the laws and was 
delivered over to the people to be stoned to death, 
(172) 


St, James, The Lesser 

and Hegesippus adds that they carried him up to 
the battlements of the Temple, and asked him to 
make a public renunciation of his faith in Jesus 
Christ, in order to undeceive the people who had 
embraced Christianity. But St. James made use 
of this opportunity to declare his belief in our 
Saviour, and in the most solemn and public man- 
ner he cried out loudly from the battlements, in 
the hearing of the great multitude then assem- 
bled in the city, on account of the Passover, that 
Jesus, Son of Man, was seated at the right hand 
of the Sovereign Majesty, and would come in 
the clouds of heaven on that last day, to judge 
the world. The Scribes and Pharisees, enraged 
by his testimony in behalf of Jesus, cried out, 
“The just man also hath erred.’’ And going up 
to the battlements, they threw him headlong 
down to the ground, saying, “He must be ston- 
ed.” St. James, though very much bruised by 
the fall, had strength enough to raise himself 
on his knees, and in this posture, raising up his 
eyes to heaven, he begged God to pardon his 
murderers, seeing that they knew not what they 
did. The rabble below received him with a 
shower of stones; and at last a fuller gave him 
a blow on the head with a club used in dressing 
cloth, after which he presently expired. This 
happened on the festival of the Pasch, the loth 

(173) 


Bible Studies 


of April, in the year of Christ 62. He was buried 
near the Temple, on the spot where he had been 
martyred, and a small column was erected over 
his grave. Such was the reputation of his sanc- 
tity, that the Jews attributed to his death the 
destruction of Jerusalem, as we read in St. 
Jerome, Origen, and Eusebius, who assure us that 
Josephus declared it himself in the genuine edi- 
tions of his history. The episcopal throne of the 
martyr was to be seen at Jerusalem in the fourth 
century. 

The apostle and primitive Christians, to judge 
from external appearances and from their suffer- 
ings, would seem the most forlorn and unhappy 
of mankind ; nevertheless they are said in Holy 
Scripture to have eaten their bread with gladness 
and singleness of heart (Acts ii, 46). And the 
Holy Ghost gives us an admirable description 
of the apostles: as sorrowful, yet always rejoic- 
ing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having 
nothing, yet possessing all things (II Cor. vi, 
10). So widely different are the judgments of 
the world and those of God ! 


(174) 


SS. SIMON, JUDE AND 
MATTHIAS 


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SS. SIMON, JUDE AND 
iM A T T H I A S 


A ccording to one tradition, SS. Simon 
and Jude were those mentioned by St. 
Matthew as our Lord's brethren; and 
according to another tradition, they were two 
brothers among the shepherds to whom the angel 
and the heavenly host revealed the birth of the 
Saviour. The painters who follow the first tra- 
dition represent these saints in the prime of life. 
Those who adopt the second represent them as 
very old, taking it for granted that at the birth 
of Christ they must have been full grown men ; 
and this is the tradition usually followed. It is 
generally agreed that they preached the Gospel 
together in Syria and Mesopotamia, and together 
suffered martyrdom in Persia. It is supposed 
that St. Simon was sawn asunder, and that St. 
Jude was killed with a halberd. Some say that 
the former was crucified. 

In a series of the apostles, St. Simon bears the 
saw, and St. Jude the halberd. In Greek art, St. 
Jude is represented as a young man; St. Simon 
as an old man with a bald head and long white 
beard. 


( 177 ) 


Bible Studies 


There is a peculiarly beautiful manner of treat- 
ing these apostles with reference to their sup- 
posed relationship to our Blessed Savior. As- 
suming that the last-named three apostles, James, 
Simon, and Jude, together with James and John 
the sons of Mary Salome, were all nearly related 
to the Saviour, it was surely a charming idea to 
group as children around Him in His infancy 
those who were afterwards called to be the chosen 
ministers of His word. Christianity, which has 
glorified womanhood and childhood by placing 
before us in art the sweet innocent childhood of 
Jesus and the ideal womanhood of our Blessed 
Mother, never suggested to the Christian artist 
a more beautiful subject than this Holy Family. 
There is a remarkable representation of it in the 
Louvre, by Lorenzo di Pavia, 1513, but the most 
beautiful one is that of Perugino, now in a 
private collection in the city of Florence. In the 
centre is the Blessed Virgin seated on a throne, 
and holding the Infant Christ in her arms. Be- 
hind is St. Anna, her mother, resting her hands 
affectionately on the Holy Mother’s shoulders. 
In front, at the foot of the throne, are two lovely 
children, undraped, with glories around their 
heads, on which are inscribed their names, Simon 
and Jude. To the right is Mary Salome, a beau- 
tiful young woman, holding in her arms a child 

(178) 


SS. Simon, Jude and Matthias 

— afterwards St. John, the evangelist. Near her 
is St. Joachim, the father of the Virgin Mary. 
At their feet is another child — James Major. 
To the left of the Blessed Virgin, Mary the wife 
of Cleophas, standing, holds by the hand James 
Minor; behind her is St. Joseph, the husband of 
the Blessed Virgin. It is a beautiful group and 
is very poetical and suggestive. 

St. Matthias, who was chosen by lot to fill the 
place of the traitor Judas, is the last of the 
apostles (Acts i, 26). He preached the Gospel 
in Judea, and suffered martyrdom by the lance 
at the hands of the Jews. 

The ceremony of choosing St. Matthias by lot 
is the subject of a remarkable picture by Boschi. 
St. Denis says that the apostles were directed in 
their choice by a beam of divine splendor, for 
it was impious to suppose that such an election 
was made by chance. In this picture by Boschi, 
a ray of light falls from heaven on the head of 
St. Matthias. There is a grand picture of this 
apostle holding the lance in his hand, by Raphael. 
Separate pictures of St. Matthias are very rare, 
and he is seldom included in sets of the apostles. 

Volumes might be written on the subject of 
the apostles and the evangelists in Christian art. 
It extends itself into endless suggestive associa- 
tions which, for the present, I cannot follow out. 

(179) 


Bible Studies 


I shall have occasion to return to the subject in 
the near future. 


11 . 

St. Simon is surnamed the Cananean, to dis- 
tinguish him from St. Peter, and from St. 
Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem. No further men- 
tion appears to be made of him in the Gospels 
than that he was adopted by Christ into the 
college of the apostles. With the rest he receiv- 
ed the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, which 
he afterwards exercised with great zeal and fideli- 
ty. Some modern Greeks claim that, after preach- 
ing in Mauritania and other parts of Africa, he 
tiaveled into Britain, and having enlightened the 
minds of many with the doctrine of the Gospel, 
was crucified by the natives, but this seems alto- 
gether improbable. The martyrologies of St. 
Jerome, St. Bede, and others, place his martyrdom 
in Persia, at a city called Suanir, possibly in the 
country of the Suani, a people in Colchis, then 
allied with the Parthians in Persia. This agrees 
with the acts of St. Andrew, which speak of a 
tomb in the Cimmerian Bosporus, bearing an in- 
scription which says that Simon was interred 
there. 

St. Jude is distinguished from Judas Iscariot, 
by the surname of Thaddeus. Nothing is said of 

(i8o) 


SS, Simon, Jude and Matthias 

him in the Gospels before we find him named as 
one of the apostles. In his epistle he styles him- 
self brother of St. James the Less, likewise of 
St. Simeon of Jerusalem, and one Joses, who are 
styled the brethren of our Lord, and were sons 
of Cleophas and Mary. After our Lord’s ascen- 
sion and the descent of the Holy Ghost, St. Jude 
set out with the other great conquerors of the 
world, armed only with the word of God and His 
Holy Spirit, to drive the prince of darkness from 
his usurped throne. This apostle is said to have 
preached in Judea, Samaria, Idumea, and Syria, 
and especially in Mesopotamia and Lybia. In 
the year 62, after the martyrdom of his brother, 
St. James, he assisted at the election of St. 
Simeon, the second bishop of Jerusalem. St. 
Jude wrote one of the Catholic epistles to all the 
churches of the East, particularly addressing 
himself to the Jewish converts — to caution them 
against the pernicious heresies which even then 
began to disturb the Church. Fortunatus and 
the Western martyrologies tell us that this holy 
apostle suffered martyrdom in Persia. The 
Greeks say he was shot to death with arrows 
while he was tied. 




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ST. MATTHIAS 







ST. MATTHIAS 


S T. MATTHIAS was one of the seventy- 
two disciples, and, as we learn from the 
Acts of the ApostleS; a constant atten- 
dant on our Blessed Lord, from the time of 
His baptism by St. John. St. Peter, having in 
a general assembly of the faithful, declared from 
Holy Scriptures the necessity of choosing a 
twelfth apostle, in place of Judas, two were 
unanimously selected as most worthy of the 
dignity — ^Joseph, called Barnabas, and Matthias. 
Then the assembly, after praying to God that 
He would direct them in their choice, proceeded 
by means of lot. This having fallen by divine 
appointment upon Matthias, he was accordingly 
associated with the eleven, and ranked among 
the apostles. 

These two holy candidates were most worthy 
of the apostleship because they were perfectly 
humble, and because they looked upon that dig- 
nity with fear and trembling. They contem- 
plated its labors, dangers, and persecutions with 
a holy joy and with a burning zeal for the glory 
of God. They had no regard for worldly talents, 

(i8s) 


Bible Studies 

nor for the ties of flesh and blood. God was 
consulted by prayer, because no one is to be as- 
sumed to His ministry who is not called by Him, 
and who does not enter it by the door, and with 
the undoubted marks of his vocation. Judas* 
treason filled Matthias with the greater humility 
and fervor, lest he also should fall. 

St. Matthias received the Holy Ghost, with the 
other apostles, soon after his election; and after 
the dispersion for the conversion of nations, tra- 
dition tells us that he planted the faith about 
Cappadocia, and on the coasts of the Caspian Sea. 
He must have undergone great hardships and 
labors in those savage lands. The Apostle is 
said to have received the crown of martyrdom in 
Colchis. 

Selection by lot may sometimes be lawfully 
used when in deliberations all sides appear equal- 
ly good, or all candidates are of equally approved 
merit; otherwise to commit an undertaking of 
importance to chance, or to expect a miraculous 
interposition of divine Providence, would be dis- 
respecting God, except He Himself by an evident 
revelation or inspiration should appoint such a 
means for the manifestation of His will, which 
was the case on this extraordinary occasion. 
The miraculous dreams or lots which we read of 
in the prophets never can authorize any rash or 

(i86) 


St. Matthias 


superstitious use of such means by others who 
have not the like authority. 

We owe God eternal praise for His great mercy 
in establishing upon earth a Church so richly 
endowed with every means of sanctity and grace ; 
a Church in which His name is always glorified, 
and where many souls by both the purity and 
the holiness of their lives are associated with the 
company of the blessed angels ; a Church, which, 
in the language of St. Paul, is the pillar and 
ground work of truth (I Tim. iii, 13), and con- 
sequently never liable to fall into error, but al- 
ways pure in her doctrine, and ever faithful to 
her heavenly Spouse. Christ, Himself, is the 
chief corner-stone of this sacred edifice; and 
according to His infallible promises, it shall stand 
the test of unending ages. 


(187) 


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